His Kitsune, Her Werewolf
by BitterSweetNitemare
Summary: Despite their denial, everyone else could see what they, the king of the Werewolf kingdom and the princess of the Kitsune, could not see./ "Think about it, Ichigo. Two different creatures from two very different worlds fall in love, but cannot be together so easily. And when you throw in love rivals, it creates a drama, and people like drama," said Renji, smirking. IchiRuki AU
1. Chapter 1: His Kitsune, Her Werewolf

**This is a two or three shot that I thought of out of nowhere! Note that I don't go into details about the creatures. This just happens to be a story with everyone as mythical creatures. Not a story that just happens to have Ichigo and Rukia as the characters!  
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**Enjoy!  
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**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach.

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**His Kitsune, Her Werewolf**_  
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**_One and a half years ago…_**

_Sighing, she leaned her head back against the wall, mindlessly playing with her star ball, which was tucked nicely under the top of her furisode, adorning her neck as a necklace. Rukia stood nearby Byakuya's office door, waiting for him to finish his meeting with the king of the werewolves. She absentmindedly played with the end of her furisode that was cut to a little bit above her knees. It wasn't too revealing, and it still allowed her to move a bit more freely._

_Her four tails moved against the walls as she leaned back, fidgeting impatiently with her fingers._

_"Thanks for your time, Byakuya." She turned to the side, seeing the orange haired werewolf exit her brother's office. He was wearing what westerners called a "dress shirt, vest, and pants." Due to the way he dressed and the obvious wolf ears that stood atop his head, it was easy to differentiate him from the usual kitsune._

_Upon exiting the office, he glanced at her and politely smiled before turning to Byakuya, "Is that your sister?"_

_Byakuya walked out of the office and looked at Rukia, nodding. "What are you doing here? You should be at your flower arranging class."_

_She nodded, and got off the wall, "I am aware of that, but I was wondering if you could let me off for the rest of the afternoon? I haven't trained nor taken Chappy out on a ride for quite awhile." She looked up expectantly, politely keeping her hands together in front of her._

_"You're always with that horse. A few days alone won't hurt, and have you forgotten? You must practice the dance for the festival of Inari. It's only a week away; no training or lounging around until you perfect your dance and calligraphy. The festival is counting on it," he answered, his face stern as ever._

_Mentally sighing, she nodded her head. "Of course, Nii-sama," she said, tightening her hands into fists._

_As she was about to turn around and leave, he quickly added, "Kurosaki Ichigo will be staying with us until the festival is over. Please attend to his needs and show him around the palace, if you may. Thank you." He then nodded to her and Ichigo before descending down the hall, to the opposite side of the building._

_Rukia looked at Ichigo, and moved so that she was directly in front of him. She bowed, "I am Rukia, and it is an honor to meet you, Kurosaki-sama," she said, smiling politely._

_Mentally grimacing, Ichigo shook his head, "Don't start with the 'Kurosaki-sama' shit. Ichigo's fine." He extended a hand out to her, "And it's nice to meet you too, Rukia, or would you prefer Hime-chama?" he said jokingly, extending his hand out to her._

_The corners of her lips moved upwards at his attempt at humor. Normally that would have been considered rude, but she knew that he wasn't completely accustomed to Japanese ways, and so she let it slip. He was, however, fluent in Japanese and knew quite a bit about Japan and the kitsune. It was a given though, since it was rumored that he was part Japanese, but considering his name, it very well might be true. "Rukia's fine, Ichigo," she took his hand and shook it, widening her eyes slightly when she felt their reiatsu make contact. It was the first time she had ever been that close to a werewolf, and the way his reiatsu reacted to her own was very different. It was like there was a spark of some sort between them._

_"Good to hear. I'm not exactly a big fan of honorifics to tell you the truth," he said, smiling. He scratched the back of his head, one of his ears twitching._

_Rukia raised an eyebrow, amused by the man's laid back and friendly nature. "So how about a tour around the castle?"_

_"Or how about you show me around the city instead?" Ichigo offered, sending her a knowing look. "We'll have to take the horses…"_

_As much as she wanted to, she couldn't give in to temptation. She was always taught to never do that for the sake of, well, many things, according to Byakuya. He always had a tell-tale way of teaching her things without ever going into detail. Basically, she would learn whatever she was taught, but never know why she actually needed it. According to her brother, she would understand when the time came, whenever that was. "Well, Nii-sama said-" she said, being cut off._

_"Who cares what 'Nii-sama' says? I say that we go into town. And he said you would attend to my needs, and I need to go into the city, so what can Byakuya say about that?" He smirked, starting toward the stair case. After no response, he turned around, "You comin' or what?"_

_Rukia blinked, but followed after him reluctantly, swiveling her tails in delight. She had decided she liked the king of the werewolves. He was easy to talk to, and miles more interesting than her brother._

* * *

_Arriving at the stable, Rukia quickly ran to her white horse, which she named, Chappy. She grinned, sliding her fingers through the hairs of the horse's mane. "Sorry, I haven't taken you out in awhile. Nii-sama was being an ass…," she whispered to the horse, encircling her arm around its neck._

_"So that's Chappy, I assume," said Ichigo, amusedly from behind her as he pet his own horse, a large black horse. "This guy is, Kon. My mother gave him to me as a gift when I was young."_

_"He seems very cared for. His coat is very sleek and shiny," she said, observing the horse. "And yeah, this is Chappy. I found her one day after my rabbit died, and named her after my rabbit. And that explains why she isn't of a 'royal breed.'" Rukia rolled her eyes, remembering Byakuya's criticism towards the poor animal. She saddled her horse, making sure it was secure, along with the many guards on its legs. After she was sure everything was on securely, she lightly patted at the emblem that represented the Kuchikis and kitsune engraved in the saddle. Glancing quickly at Ichigo, she noticed his horse as well, was covered by guards to show "status." The saddle too had the Kurosaki emblem engraved into it, as well as the symbol of the werewolves._

_She climbed atop the horse, fixing her horse riding hakama which she had changed into before entering the stables. Her clothes were designed specifically for her and looked more like a kimono than simple horse riding clothes. "You don't ride side saddle?" asked Ichigo, moving towards her on his own horse._

_"Well, this isn't Europe. Women in Japan don't often ride horses, and so side saddles aren't necessary. We also wear hakama, which allows us to ride like men," she said with a lopsided smile. She rode out of the stables alongside Ichigo, her ears folding back as the chilly wind blew. "What would you like to see first?"_

_"Anywhere is fine, but I'm curious as to where you stay? I heard that you don't actually live in the castle with Byakuya," said Ichigo, watching her as her short midnight hair flew around her face. "I'm not going to stalk you, so don't fret."_

_Rukia laughed, "It takes more to scare me than a stalker, or perverted werewolf might I add." She smirked jokingly at him nudging him in the side with her elbow since she was close enough to do so._

_He glared at her, "Just so you know, I might be a king, but I'm not a pig. And while you might not be scared, there are many dangerous people out there."_

_"From what I've heard, you're quite the lady killer. And I'm more than capable of punishing anyone who dares peek through my bathroom window. Human men have risked their lives doing so before, knowing that I'm a kitsune," she said, slightly smug._

_She then pointed to a large traditional mansion right behind the castle. While the castle's interior and exterior was mostly westernized, the Kuchiki mansion was of the traditional type; with tatami mats and shoji doors. "That's the private Kuchiki manor. Usually Nii-sama stays there, but due to his duties, he stays up at the castle. He had the castle specially built to fit the preferences of European guests, and to protect the Kuchiki manor in case of attack. You will be staying at the castle I presume?"_

_"Yeah, I am. But I find the manor much more interesting," said Ichigo, riding towards the manor. "Care if I take a look? It's not often that I have a chance to go into a traditional Japanese home. Plus, I heard the home of a kitsune is considered lucky." He turned back to her, a grin on his face._

_She rolled her eyes, and followed him, feeling a smile grace her lips._

_"What's that violet ball on your necklace?" asked Ichigo, laying on the grass, watching as the sakura petals fell from the tree. He blew at a petal that fell towards his mouth, growling much like a wolf when said petal fell on his nose._

_Rukia looked down at her necklace, fingering her star ball, "This is a star ball. It contains my power, and represents my soul. When I'm in human form, it just looks like a violet translucent pearl on my necklace, but when I transform, it becomes large. It's like a power limiter." She lay on her stomach, facing Ichigo with her legs swinging back and forth behind her, with her tails squiggling in the air._

_After a good few hours of talking while roaming different parts the large town, the two lay below a sakura tree to rest. The whole situation consisted of Ichigo asking questions, and Rukia replying with as much enthusiasm. At least now, they both were comfortable enough to engage in personal conversations._

_"Ah, so it's like my choker, in the sense that it stores our full power within it." He nodded, picking at his choker. "The thing's annoying as hell, but I need to keep it on. If I don't, I instantly transform into my true form, which isn't pleasant. If you've never seen the true form of a werewolf, then I'll tell you that we look like humongous mutant wolves. We can either run on all fours, or only our hind legs."_

_"I see… that is quite interesting. Have you ever seen a kitsune's real form before?" She asked, sitting up._

_"I have only a few times before the peace treaty was signed after the wars," he said, raising his brow at her in interest. "Why do you ask?"_

_She grinned, petting one of her tails that lay on her lap. "I was just curious. Have you ever seen a royal kitsune transform?" To which he shook his head, actually looking her in the eye this time. "Then why don't I show you? Nii-sama hates it when I transform, but if he's not here, then he shouldn't care."_

_Standing up, she smiled at him. She closed her eyes, her star ball vibrating. Her body began to glow all white as the space around her started to distort. Shape shifting, her body glittered with mist being released as she changed shape._

_Ichigo sat up, watching with interest as the princess transformed into her true form, revealing an elegant snow white kitsune with midnight black fur trailing up from the bottom of her legs. She had four tails, like she did in human form with her violet star ball held tightly in one of them._

_"So that's what it looks like... I've seen other kitsune transform, but your transformation is different. It's less gruesome, not that a kitsune's transformation is gross anyways, not compared to a werewolf," he said, reaching out to touch her. She moved forward and allowed him to pet her._

_Her fur was soft, Ichigo let his hand travel through the fur of her back, slowly moving towards her tails. "Your tails look extra soft. I heard that if you touch a kitsune's tail without permission, you'll be cursed."_

_Rukia chuckled, sitting down and licking her her paw._

_"You know, maybe someday I'll show you my true form, but not now," Ichigo ruffled the fur on her head before staring up at the moon in the starry night sky._

**_A week later..._**

_"You did well, Rukia."_

_Rukia's ears perked up, instantly recognizing the deep familiar voice of a certain werewolf. If it were anyone else, she'd be surprised to know they discovered her special spot, but since it was Ichigo, she didn't mind that he found her. He did that quite often actually; he was able to locate her spot as she could him. Everyone else found it strange, but they both didn't see what was so irregular about it._

_She placed her hand on the bench she sat upon, and twisted her body to look behind her. The wind blew softly, making her hair blow around her face. "Glad to know. After all, I didn't practice my ass off for nothing. And shouldn't you be getting ready to leave? Midnight's in less than two hours."_

_Ichigo chuckled, crossing his arms over his clothed chest, "Do you want to get rid of me that fast, Hime-chama?" He walked up towards her, looking at the luminescent moon as it adorned the night sky._

_He called her, "Hime-chama" sometimes to tease her, while she called him a large range of insulting titles, but the most common was, "bakamono." Normally addressing each other like that was very rude, but they weren't exactly "Byakuya-like," or prudish, as Ichigo casually put it._

_"Matter-of-factly, yes, yes I do. You keep scaring my bunnies, making the female servants faint with your blasting pheromones, showing off during my calligraphy classes, scaring people off with your scowl, and constantly waving your tail in my face or on the back of my head!_

_"It's very annoying, actually."_

_The orange haired werewolf laughed, smacking her in the back of the head with his tail. "Glad to know I left a nice impression. And tell the female servants, 'I'm sorry I'm too good looking.'" He chuckled smugly, causing one of Rukia's ears to twitch, making her roll her eyes._

_"I honestly don't see what's so 'good looking' about you. You scowl constantly, and you always look like you want to kill someone; not exactly "prince charming" material, like how you westerners put it. You don't seem very romantic to me." Rukia took off her tabi socks and threw them to the side along with her geta, letting her feet rest comfortably on top of the grass._

_"Oh, but you don't know Rukia. Back in Europe, women were crazy about me. They commissioned witches to make them love potions, while younger witches attempted to put spells on me," he stretched out his arms and plopped down on the grass, lying back with his legs and arms sprawled out on the ground._

_Rukia laughed, brushing out one of her tails, "Well, weren't you a big shot. Did you flirt with every female creature possible?"_

_"I don't flirt, they flirt with me. I once asked for directions, and a women laughed and told me I was really funny. It's entertaining, really," he said, tilting his head to look at her. "And typical of any other man, I usually only court the exceptionally beautiful women, unless they have a bad attitude."_

_"Hm… I don't find that fair to the women who have beautiful personalities, but not exceptionally good looks. But I am a hypocrite to say that," she got up and walked over to the edge of the lake, sticking her bare feet into the cool water, grinning. In human form, she loved the feeling of water, but when in her true form, she couldn't tolerate it as easily; it made her fur weigh down, and was just plain annoying to move around in._

_"True, but that's the nature of all creatures," he sat up, and yawned, scratching the back of his head. "I think it's time I leave._

_"See ya' later, Rukia! I have a feeling this won't be the last time we meet," he got up and walked over to Rukia's side, ruffling her hair. "Good luck with Byakuya! He's got some crazy plans for you next month."_

_Rukia rolled her eyes, and stuck her tongue out at his good-naturedly, "Yeah. Have a safe trip, not that anything can lay finger on you with those guards of yours." She turned around and instantly spotted Ichigo's body guards, "You can come out now, Sado, Madarame, Ayasegawa-san." The said guards jumped out from and behind the trees._

_Ichigo smirked at them before turning back to Rukia, "I guess we'll see each other later. Have fun in class," he said, walking away, waving his hand._

_"Thanks, baka. And you have fun dealing with your kingdom's problems, they sound like fun!" She said loudly, her tails waving back and forth in the air._

_She didn't want to admit it, but she'd miss the idiot. Now it was only her, Byakuya, the servants, and the occasional visitor._

* * *

**_Present time… a year and a half later_**

Rukia's ear twitched.

What if Inoue and Senna were trying to win Ichigo's heart? Why was everyone assuming she would be mad? He was the king of the werewolf kingdom, and she was the princess of the kitsune kingdom, there was nothing else to it. They were acquaintances who made deals and such with each other and had a bit of friendship going on; nothing that involved "attraction," or "sexual pheromones."

She could care less about the whole ordeal, honestly.

She scoffed as she sipped her tea, one of her four tails sweeping along the tatami. "I don't know about you, but you and Ichi-nii seem kind of suspicious if you know what I mean," said Ichigo's sister, Karin. The female werewolf was currently lying on the ground unceremoniously, with her legs spread apart and her arms under her head.

A few months after Ichigo and Rukia's first meeting, Rukia discovered that Ichigo's father had a separate manor that was built in Japan years ago, and it wasn't too far away from the Kuchiki manor. It wasn't ready for Ichigo the last time he came, so Byakuya had suggested Ichigo stay with them. After he left, a couple of months later, his two sisters and father came to visit Japan, which was when she met Karin, along with her sister, Yuzu. Karin and Rukia got along very well, to which the young werewolf decided to stay in Japan since it was calmer -and she was sick of corsets. Due to her decision, her twin, Yuzu, spent a year in Japan and a year back in Europe.

Yuzu would usually follow Karin to the Kuchiki manor, where they would chat with Rukia and eat. She got along well with Rukia, but spent most of her time playing with the bunnies, or testing out different foods in the kitchen.

"Why does everyone think that? You're the fifth person today to ask me. I don't care! Ichigo can do whatever he wants, I'm not stopping him," growled Rukia, dipping her brush into the black ink on top of the kotatsu.

Karin stuck her bottom lip out, unconvinced. "You seem pretty riled up to me. But come on, it's hard to see you guys _not _more than friends." She looked to the side at the open doors, watching as snow fell to the ground softly.

"I'm 'riled up' as you put it, because I keep getting asked the same thing over and over!" Rukia tried to keep her hand steady as she wrote, but added extra pressure at times, screwing up her calligraphy. "And we're just friends. People should stop imagining things. Yes, we share eating utensils sometimes, and can tell what each others' thinking at any time, but that doesn't mean there's something between us. We're just not like that."

Still, the other woman was unconvinced. "Whatever you say… but it's nearly impossible for a male and a female to share a platonic love without there being at least _one _point intime where one of the counterparts felt something more for the other," she said, continuing to watch the snow, crawling under the kotatsu when the cold breeze blew inside, chilling her skin.

Rukia stayed silent after that, not having an intelligent answer to give. The other woman didn't continue talking either, and the only sound heard was the very distant sound of human servants rustling around the manor.

Finally, after a few minutes, the young werewolf added, "Don't get me wrong, I like Orihime-chan, and Senna-san too, but I want what's the best for Ichi-nii," piped up Karin, sitting up and pouring herself a cup of tea. "And no offense to them… but I don't think they're what he needs." She knew Orihime and Senna pretty well, but thought they were too much like all the other women; they were bubbly, always too happy, and too predictable. Rukia, on the other hand was different. She was sarcastic, witty, and so very relatable, while also fairly agreeable.

Rukia turned to the werewolf, one of her ears standing up slightly. "Well, if not them, what does he need then? Those two would make great partners. They're very loyal, kind, polite, and friendly," she said, unaware that she had left her brush pressed against her paper, causing the black ink to absorb and feather. "And Senna-san's a werewolf too."

Karin sat up and looked the other woman straight in the eye, "What he needs is a violet eyed kitsune who knows how to put him in his place."

* * *

Ichigo sighed, and placed the book he had just finished reading back into its rightful spot on the shelf of his personal library.

"Karin just sent a message saying that she and Rukia will be arriving tonight," said Ichigo's friend, Renji, from behind him. Renji wasn't an aristocrat, but he was pretty well off. He was Ichigo's childhood friend, and now his unprofessional consultant for pretty much anything. He was part werewolf, with some kitsune heritage, which was why he was also fluent in Japanese.

"Already? She just told us yesterday that she would be coming," the orange haired werewolf walked over to Renji and sat on the couch next to him, flipping open a random book that was on the nearby table.

Renji shrugged, "Probably some sort of kitsune magic? I don't know if they can even do that sort of thing though." He flipped through random pages of some book he picked up, not paying much attention to its content. "So… I hear from Mizuiro that you and Rukia are awfully 'chummy?'"

Ichigo's ears perked up, stopping his reading, "I'm not answering. I've been asked this too many times already."

"Oh, it's true then." The other man smirked, closing his book and carelessly tossing it onto the nightstand next to the couch.

"Don't draw conclusions, asshole. Nothing's going on between us, we're close friends, that's all. Can't a man and woman share a platonic relationship?" asked Ichigo, his scowl deepening. Everyone for some reason found his and Rukia's relationship extremely romantic, even though he didn't see what was so amusing about it. Even his old man was acting as if it was official!

"Not in this day and age. With more literature and art sprouting about, everyone's been obsessed with love and romance stories. And yours just happens to be extremely appealing. It's even popular internationally, believe it or not," laughed Renji, putting his arms behind his head.

Ichigo widened his eyes in surprise, "Those damn pixies, they gossip about everything!" He closed his book and turned to his laughing friend. "And what do you mean it's popular internationally?"

"Well, think about it. Two different creatures from two very different worlds fall in love without knowing it, but must deal with their different lifestyles, and cannot be together so easily. And then when you throw in love rivals, it creates a drama, and people like that crap.

"I thought a literature freak like you would understand, but I guess you're stupider than I thought. Actually, no, you were always this stupid," said Renji, smirking. He watched amusedly as Ichigo let the information sink in, his tail waving through the air.

"Wait, who are the love rivals?"

"Inoue and Senna… and I think Ashido's been quite enthusiastic to see her too," Renji loved pushing at Ichigo's buttons. The orange haired idiot wasn't as smart as he thought he was; he often, unknowingly, put his heart on his sleeve when it came to subjects like Rukia. He may not know it, but Renji could tell that there was _something_ going on between him and the violet-eyed kitsune.

**_Later that night…_**

Having been greeted by the head butler, Karin and Rukia were escorted go their rooms. Karin had followed Rukia to help her get comfortable.

"I have to wear _this_?" asked the ignorant kitsune, pointing to the corset that the maid held in her hands.

Karin laughed, "Yup, that was one of the reasons I decided to stay in Japan; no more corsets." She walked over to one of the closets inside the guest suite Rukia would be staying in, and looked through the dresses. "Hmm, this is definitely your color. Anyways, I'll see you later, I need to freshen up too. If you need anything, feel free to ask Hinamori." She then waved before exiting the room.

The said girl, Hinamori, smiled shyly. "Um, I'll be your personal maid during your stay. So feel free to ask me anything!" she said, blushing, her feline ears pressing downwards. She was, obviously, a werecat who was also pretty talented at witchcraft, according to Karin. Rukia was warned not to get on the girl's bad side.

"Of course, and just wondering, will I have to wear those too?" asked Rukia, pointing at the heeled shoes on the floor in fear.

Momo laughed, "Not if you don't want to, but I recommend doing so since this is your first taste of European culture. Usually the poorer class people can't afford shoes like these, so please appreciate them while you can! Although, I agree they're tight and hard to walk in, but a little practice will help."

Rukia nodded, reluctantly allowing Momo to dress her. The dress Karin had picked out for her before was admittedly very pretty. It was a soft lilac colored dress that had slightly puffed sleeves at the shoulders with the rest of the sleeves tight against her arms. It wasn't too frilly or lacey, which was at least good. However, the bottom of the dress had a layered style which was annoying since it weighed the dress down. And Momo found it funny when the dress had to be edited to accommodate her many tails. It was fit for the average female werewolf which allowed for one tail to be free… but kitsune tails were extra fluffy, and she had many, so one cut out would certainly not do.

"Please don't move, I might mess up," said Momo with much concentration. Rukia fidgeted uncomfortably as the other woman twisted and pinned her hair. How could it take so long to do her hair when she had really short hair to begin with? It was beyond her! "I'm sorry I'm taking so long to prepare you. I'm sure you're impatient to go see Kurosaki, but don't worry, you'll look absolutely beautiful that the fur on his tail will stand up straight! Well, if he were a werecat I guess, then it would make more sense!" she laughed.

As much as Rukia wanted to deny any truth that she was impatient to see Ichigo, she _was_ _a_ _bit anxious. _But she wouldn't admit it as people would conclude deliriously that they were officially engaged or something ludicrous like that. It's happened before, like when she needed to see him to give him a file he forgot, people assumed they were going to elope and gave her words of luck or tried to talk her out of it... not that she needed to be talked out of anything, anyways!

"Oh, and try to avoid Senna today, she's been in a rather sour mood lately since Kurosaki hasn't acted favorably to her flirting attempts. She, of course, won't try to physically harm you in any way, but she's very competitive," said Momo, sighing.

Rukia groaned, she knew Senna, but they weren't close enough to be friends, so she had a feeling the girl wasn't exactly fond of her right now since she believed that Rukia posed a threat to her relationship with Ichigo, which was stupid, but what could she do about it?

The violet eyed kitsune played with her star ball, completely dreading having to meet up with Senna. Orihime, she was friends with, so she was okay with her. She could try speaking to Senna nicely, but she heard that when the girl was mad, friendliness was useless until the fire was simmered. _Great_. _Now every female probably hates me because I'm for some reason a rival for Ichigo's heart. Nii-sama better not find out, or I'm dead, _thought Rukia, grimacing.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and Karin walked in, adorned in her traditional clothing, fit for a princess. Compared to her usual "lazy day" clothes back in Japan, she looked very different now, like she actually tried, thought Rukia humorously.

"Woah there, you clean up nicely. I almost couldn't recognize you," laughed Karin, surprised. Her hair was simply tied up in a pony tail, and she wore a light red dress that wasn't too bright or too dark, but rather, very Karin-like. "Want a tour of the palace? I'm sure you'll like it." Without getting an answer, the dark haired werewolf walked out of the room, waiting for Rukia to follow along.

Karin then proceeded to show Rukia the different sections of the palace, including the library, dining hall, ball room, and the stables. Each part of the palace was decorated with the colors of the werewolves, and the emblem of the Kurosaki's; it was a reminder to her that she was in a foreign land.

"And this is the garden, our last destination. Ichigo usually likes to spar here at night and lay around during the day; he's like a cat," Karin opened the twin doors that led to the outside world, revealing a large backyard that probably stretched half the size of the Mediterranean sea, if one were to exaggerate of course. There were large rose bushes surrounding the perimeter of the garden with the typical maze far in the back. There were a few water fountains spread around with small patches of flowers planted here and there.

"Who's a cat now?" piped up Ichigo from above. Rukia jumped in surprise, not sensing Ichigo's reiatsu. She turned around swiftly, and found him sitting on the roof with Renji. They both held their swords, and were breathing heavily; they probably had been sparring no less than five minutes ago. "Oh, and who's this lovely lad- wait, is that you Rukia?" He widened his eyes, and jumped down from the roof, taking a closer look. "Shit! It is!" he exclaimed, noticing her tails and ears.

Rukia crossed her arms, a vein popping on her forehead, "What's that supposed to mean, you idiot? Do I look that bad?" Her ear twitched as one of her fangs stuck out of her mouth in irritation.

Ichigo scratched the back of his head, his cheeks very slightly pink. He hated to admit it, but she looked really good in the dress she wore. And with her hair out of her face, he could see her eyes better. He was actually surprised she could look that pretty in non-Japanese clothing, not that she wasn't pretty before. But it wasn't as though it was anything different from saying any other girl was pretty… yeah, it wasn't anything different, he convinced himself. "Well, you don't look bad. You just look really…," Karin smirked at him, waiting for him to continue, "really European."

The dark haired kitsune lifted one of her brows, "I see… glad to know. I already stick out with my tails, so it's good I fit in at least a little bit." She chuckled and then walked away when a statue in the garden caught her attention.

Once Rukia left, Karin snapped her head to Ichigo and glared at him, "What the hell was that? 'Really European?' Are you really that stupid? Please tell me I'm not the only one you frustrate, right Renji?" She turned to the red haired werewolf, frowning when she noticed he was staring in the direction Rukia was in. "Renji? Hello? Are you going to keeping ignoring me, or do you want me to kick you?" Getting no answer, she kicked Renji in the shin, and then proceeded to show her violent displays of annoyance by punching her older brother in the head.

"What the hell?!" yelled both Ichigo and Renji, grabbing a hold of their bruised body parts.

Karin scowled, "That's for being idiots." She glared at them one last time before walking over to Rukia, who was observing a bush that was trimmed into the shape of a wolf with much fascination, and tapping her shoulder, "Come on, it's getting late. I'm tired of being around those two. I feel like my sanity's slowly slipping away."

Rukia laughed, "I completely understand. I'm pretty tired myself." She followed Karin away post sticking her tongue out at Ichigo, and saying her formal goodbyes to Renji.

Ichigo rolled his eyes at her as she walked by, "Night, Kuchiki. Make sure you don't drown in the blankets. Being small can be tough, I know." She glared at him and hit him hard with one of her tails.

"Be lucky I didn't bite you."

"How lady-like."

As the two continued with their immature comebacks, they –or more like Rukia- were being observed closely by a certain determined maiden who was very much intimidated by Rukia's presence.

* * *

_**A/N:**_Sorry if you found mistakes! I simply don't have time to look it over thoroughly! Anyways, this chapter is basically introducing the setting, starting up the story. The real stuff starts next chapter!

**So keep reading and please review! Any comments are appreciated! [As for flames, please shove them up your ass, with my most sincerest apologies]**


	2. Chapter 2: Unexpected

**This chapter is mostly to introduce the whole setting of the story, leading to the _real _part next chapter! **

**Please read the desc. at the end!**

* * *

_**Disclaimer: **I don't own or claim anything... etc, etc_

* * *

_**Chapter 2: Unexpected  
**_

Upon returning to her room, she was welcomed with the sound of running water coming from the built in bathroom. Momo poked her head out from the said room, and instantly plastered a smile to her face, "Welcome back! I'm readying your bath for you, so please change out of your clothes and wrap yourself with the robe on your bed," said the small werecat.

Rukia nodded, "Thank you, Hinamori." She first slipped off her uncomfortable pinchy shoes, and began to take off all the jewelry adorning her neck -with the exception of her star ball- and ears. _It should be illegal to wear so much unneeded junk…_

Suddenly her maid came out of the bathroom, "I'll be right back, I forgot to bring in the herbs and flower petals! I'm so sorry!" Momo bowed about five times apologetically before sprinting out of the room as though Rukia were going to maul her.

Taken aback, Rukia blinked, watching as the door closed, listening as the sound of Momo tripping entered her ears.

Shaking her head, she continued to attempt undressing herself. Well, note that she _attempted_. The corset was extremely tight, making it really hard to reach, really, anywhere, which made unbuttoning the back of her dress more than difficult. She somehow managed to do it though with a few tears and stretches, most likely with the idea of paying for the dress on her mind. "Why must Western attire have to be so complex, dangerously tight, and so intricately designed?" she frowned, looking down at the poor dress with disdain as it lay ripped on the floor. She didn't even attempt taking off her corset as it was too much work. Plus, she sitting on her bed and waiting for Momo to come back and help her seemed much easier than "accidentally" ripping any more clothes. Unfortunately, she was rather impatient as it was cold, and sitting was even difficult while wearing a corset; no wonder why Karin despised them so much!

Getting up, she went to the door and peeked out, looking around the corridor, hoping to find _anyone,_ preferably someone she knew who was female.

After looking around for a minute or two, she was able to spot Ichigo walking passed the hallway she was in, whistling with a book in his hands. She wasn't sure if she should call him or not, but she felt like Momo wouldn't return for awhile. Sighing, she called, "Psst, Ichigo!"

She saw one of his furry ears twitch, and was sure he heard her. After all, wolves had great hearing.

He stopped walking, and turned his head to look in her direction. He watched as she made a gesture with her hand for him to come over to her, and raised one of his brows. "Why?"

She rolled her eyes, "Just come here!" He eyed her suspiciously before cautiously walking over to her. "Can you help me with something?"

Ichigo lifted his brow higher, "Sure? And what would that be?" He crossed his arms, his tail slowly waving back and forth.

"Well, I need help, in _here_," she said, gesturing with her head inside the room. Currently, Ichigo could only see her head peeking out from the door, and was not aware that she only had on her undergarments. Matter-of-factly, Rukia, being ignorant of European dress, wasn't even aware that the pieces of clothing she had on were her undergarments.

"In _there_?" he chuckled, her vague ways of asking for help was always amusing. If it were any other man she was talking to, the poor guy would have assumed she needed help with _that _in _there_. Of course, he knew Rukia and how naïve she could be, so he simply rolled his eyes and entered the room after Rukia moved aside. Before paying any attention to her, he looked around the room, "They gave you a really nice suite, one that's suitable for a queen. Well, you are a princess, but you would've been given a suite like Karin's and Yuzu's. The maids must really like you." He continued to look around the room, nodding his head, giving it a thorough inspection.

"Ahem! Enough with the room! Help me loosen this thing," said Rukia, pointing to the corset she was currently wearing. Ichigo's attention then turned to her, his eyes widening as he finally took a look at her. He flushed, sharply turning away, his gaze forced on the floor.

"Uh… Rukia, you are aware that you're in only a corset, right?" He said, biting his lip, his face getting redder by the second.

The oblivious kitsune blinked in confusion, obviously not understanding. "Yeah, what about it? I need you to help me take it off. It's too tight, and all the lace is in the back and I can't reach back there," she scowled stomping over to him. "Hey, are you listening, you bozo?" she moved in front of him so she could look him in the eye, but he quickly took a step back, and looked to the other side.

Ichigo scratched the back of his head, feeling awfully hot, "Well, that _corset,_" he said, "is your undergarment and shouldn't be shown to men. Notice how if I helped you take that off, which I won't, the top half of your body would be b-bare?" He stuttered, his own words registering in his mind.

As his words ran through mind, Rukia's facial expression quickly morphed into one of surprise and embarrassment, her pale face being flourished with bright red and the fur on her tails standing up. Her mouth opened and closed repeatedly, not knowing what to say.

Quickly covering her chest, she twisted around to go grab the bath robe on her bed, but being rather clumsy, she stepped on the bottom of her under dress causing her trip. As if on cue, Ichigo quickly moved and was able to catch her with his arms around her waist before she fell on the high-heeled shoes that rested on the floor, which would've been rather painful. "That was close," he said, his arms still around her waist.

"Oh my! I'm so sorry I interrupted! Please continue!" yelled a female voice from behind them, near the door. The two royals turned their heads sharply around only to find Momo standing at the door with bottles in her hand and a big fat non-apologetic smile plastered on her face. She then ran out of the room, and, "Guess what I just saw?!" was heard down the hall.

Groaning, Ichigo slapped his forehead, "And so, another rumor is born… and Hinamori is known for her crazy fantasies…"

_The next day…_

"So… I heard you and Ichi-nii were 'getting it on' yesterday night after you returned to your room," Karin smirked, placing her elbows unceremoniously on the table as she and Rukia sat outside in the garden drinking tea. "I leave you for five minutes, and you jump my brother! I didn't know you were that kind of person," teased Karin, feigning lightheadedness. She rested the back of her hand on her forehead and leaned back in her chair, acting as though she were about to have a fainting spell. In truth, she was loving every second of her obnoxious behavior. "If I recall correctly, Momo said that 'They were touching here, they were touching there, they were touching everywhere!'" She couldn't take it anymore, she instantly burst out laughing, wiping a tear from her eye.

Rukia, who sat across from her, scowled, snickering as she sipped her tea. "Oh, shut up! Nothing happened; he only caught me when I tripped! And it's not like you weren't 'fooling around' with General Hitsugaya!"

Instantly, Karin switched from offensive to defensive, "Hey, don't change the subject to me, and there was no 'fooling around!' He was helping me tend to my horse!" She snatched a fruit tart from the plate full of sweets in the middle of the table, and shoved it in her mouth rather unlady-like.

"Well, a certain were-cat would believe otherwise," said Rukia, catching Karin's attention. "And was that all you guys did?"

The dark-haired werewolf rolled her eyes, "Well, he also polished my sword for me, but that's all that happened!" She crossed her arms and poured herself some more tea.

"I'm sure it was, and I'm also sure that 'Karin-ojo-sama' happens to _like_ this general," laughed Rukia, taking revenge on the other woman for annoying her earlier. She innocently nibbled on her shortbread cookie, smirking, "Or at least that's what everyone can see except you."

Karin's cheeks turned a bit pink, "Well, there also happens to be a kitsune who has a thing for my brother, but is too blinded by whatever she's blinded by to see anything!" retorted Karin, heavily packing her tea with sugar.

Rukia rolled her eyes, "Where have I heard this before? Oh, and you have quite a way with words. 'Too blinded by whatever she's blinded by...,'" she imitated sarcastically, chuckling. She finished her tea and got up, "Anyways, I'll see you later, Karin; I think I'll visit the library."

"Running away now?" teased the other woman, stretching her arms. "I think I'll go train a bit, I think I've lost my touch."

"I'm sure a white haired general will be delighted to train with you," Rukia stuck her tongue out good-naturedly, and headed indoors, nodding to the butlers as she passed by them. Strangely, she felt rather at home in the castle. She at first thought she would feel out of place in such a foreign land, but she was comfortable here. Not being quite the most friendly person, Rukia had a noticeably hard time making friends, but here, everyone radiated warmth… well, almost everyone.

"Oh, good morning, Rukia," greeted a purple haired werewolf, walking up to her. Senna smiled brightly, in an almost scary way, "How are you? I hope you're enjoying your stay here." Of all the times that Rukia has talked Senna, the woman wasn't necessarily cold, but there were times when she seemed a bit "fake." Her kindness was genuine though, that she was sure of.

Senna had a pretty interesting sense of color. She normally wore yellow, and sometimes red, but today, she had decided on a muted cobalt colored dress, and peach colored ribbon in her hair. It didn't look bad, but didn't look great either as the two colors were a bit clashing, but what else could one expect from Senna? She was pretty different in her own way.

"I'm feeling quite nice actually, thank you for asking. I was actually just heading towards the library," answered Rukia, walking along with the other woman beside her.

"The library is wonderful! Ichigo really knows where to find great books," said Senna, humming as she walked. "I think I'll come along with you. Yuzu usually keeps her recipe books there for everyone."

"So you like to cook?"

"Kind of, I'm trying to look for some really spicy curry recipes," said the female werewolf, her cheeks turning a bit pink. "Inoue's making tons of curry for… everyone, so I want to try making some too."

Rukia's eyebrows lifted high on her forehead, "I'm sure Ichigo will enjoy whatever you make."

"I hope… wait, how did you know I was talking about him?" asked Senna, oblivious to the fact that _everyone _knew about her feelings towards the king of the werewolves.

"Oh, I don't know, pure instinct?" laughed the dark haired kitsune, "And don't forget the chocolate mousse cake afterwards, he can't be without that after dinner."

Senna's smile dropped just bit, "You know quite a bit about Ichigo, don't you?"

"After being around him quite often it's hard not to pick up his habits, likes, and dislikes. I'm sure it didn't take you long to figure out all those things, especially since you've known him for decades," answered Rukia, unaware of Senna's change in mood.

"To be honest, I only learned this stuff a few years ago, despite how long I've known him for…," said the other woman, not exactly in a cheery mood anymore.

They opened the doors that led to the library and entered, going their own ways.

As expected, it was very silent, and there were very few people in there. Personally, Rukia preferred it this way. She took a round about the room, looking at different books, unsure of what to read. She remembered Ichigo saying something about Shakespeare, but from what she heard, the majority of his more popular plays were tragedies, and she'd rather spare herself the grief for something more worth it. Suddenly, a book on the eighth shelf up caught her eye, most likely because of the rabbit design on its spine. She tried reaching up for the book, but due to her height, she was nowhere close. She jumped a few times, but continued to fail. She then heard movement beside her, causing one of her ears to twitch. The large hand of a man then came into view, taking the book she wanted off the shelf and handing it to her. "Here you go," said the man.

She looked up at the man, and couldn't say she met him before. He was really tall, or at least from her perspective, but he was tall nonetheless. He had dark maroon-brown hair and a kind face. "Uh, thank you, mister… ?" she said, taking the book from his hands.

"I'm Ashido. Ashido Kano, one of Ichigo's advisors," he said, smiling politely.

"Ah, thank you then, Ashido," she smiled, and nodded her head at him. "I'm Kuchiki Rukia, nice to meet you."

"Likewise, you're the kitsune princess I presume?" he said, glancing at the four tails swinging back and forth behind her.

She laughed, "How'd you know? It couldn't be my many tails could it?" she joked.

He, in turn, chuckled, "Possibly. Anyways, I must leave now; I hope to be able to engage in conversation with you at a later time."

"Of course, I hope to see you around," she said, smiling. They both nodded to each other before Ashido walked away towards the library exit.

* * *

"Damn vampires, acting all high and mighty," spat Renji, picking his ear with his pinky. "Ishida always has a way with words, doesn't he?"

Ichigo rolled his eyes, "I don't care how he acts, as long as we stay in good terms with the vampire nation, we're fine. Plus, you should be used to him by now," he said, stretching his arms.

"Pssh," answered the other werewolf, "Forgot to tell you, the head nobles suggested that we have a ball. I don't know why, but they think it's a good idea to invite suitors for Karin and Yuzu as they are 'of age.'"

Ichigo froze and snapped his head towards Renji, "Suitors? They're too young to be thinking of such things! They're barely adults!"

Now it was Renji's turn to roll his eyes, "I don't know about you, but I don't see two young girls anymore. I see two women, ready to start their lives." He crossed his arms over his chest, shrugging.

"I still think it's too early. I won't even bother asking my dad, as he'll be first in line to find them husbands. Thank heavens he won't be returning for few days," Ichigo said, continuing to walk down the hall.

"I also forgot to add that the nobles as well as your dad agree that there should be many women from across the world invited to the ball, so you can find yourself a waifu," chuckled Renji, nudging the other man in the side with his elbow. "Oh, wait a minute, all the invitations were already sent out and the plans made, courtesy of Kurosaki Isshin."

Again, Ichigo froze, turning back to Renji, "What?!" he ran up to the red haired man and shook his shoulders. "Are you fucking kidding me? My old man's making plans for me?"

Renji shrugged again, smacking Ichigo's hands off his shoulders. "I wouldn't blame him though, there's got to be something wrong with you. You're surrounded by tons of girls, ones with some nice _gifts_ too might I add, and you go for none of them."

The orange haired werewolf stayed silent after that, frowning. He turned around and continued to walk down the hall, until something, or _someone _caught his attention. It was Rukia, she was walking down the hall with very slow steps. She was looking downwards, most likely reading a book. He wasn't sure whether to talk to her as he was still a little bit embarrassed from last night's events. Then he heard her sniffle, a sniffle that only accompanied a person when crying. He scrunched his eyebrows together before speed walking over to her, "Hey, Rukia, are you crying?"

The said kitsune sniffled one more time before looking behind her at Ichigo. She had a pink nose and watery eyes, and looked noticeably like she was crying. She wiped her eyes with her handkerchief, "No, I just have really bad allergies- Yes! I'm crying, you idiot!"

Raising his eyebrows, he said, "Don't tell me you're crying over that book? 'The Little Bunny Who Could', I remember I used to read that to the twins when they were young. But you? Come on, Rukia," he teased, grinning. He ruffled her hair, earning him a glare and a slap on the arm.

"Don't touch me, idiot," she said, wiping the rest of her face.

"You're kind of cute when you cry," he said, pissing her off further. "But still not as good looking as all the other women I've seen," he teased, completely intending on pushing her buttons.

She then punched him in the gut, "Go be an asshole somewhere else!" she yelled, stomping away.

"Damn, she's feisty," commented Renji, next to a bent over Ichigo, "I kind of like feisty."

"She's only feisty when you play with her feelings, insult her pride, or just plain asshole material," Ichigo said, standing up straight. "She's fucking tiny, but her punches and kicks are nothing to belittle."

_A few days later…_

"I'm back!" yelled Isshin at the top of his lungs. The moment he entered the castle, he had started yelling about his return, igniting the gathering of maids, butlers, as well as Yuzu, Karin, and Ichigo.

"How are my beautiful daughters? Papa missed you so much!" Yuzu jumped into Isshin's arms for a big bear hug, and father and daughter started their cheesy waterworks as Karin and Ichigo watched, their eyes rolling. "Do my other children not miss Papa?"

Karin rolled her eyes again, "Of course not, and you're here now, so what's there to miss?" she said, her arms crossed.

"Masaki, our daughter is so heartless!" he cried to the heavens, his bottom lip sticking out.

Then, out of nowhere he stopped crying as fast as he started, and turned his attention to Ichigo after looking around. "Ichigo, where's your fiancée?"

"What fiancée?!" exclaimed the said werewolf, his eye twitching.

"What do you mean, 'what fiancée?!'" gawked Isshin, "Don't tell me she dumped your ugly face!"

"There was no fiancée to begin with! And there never will be one!" yelled Ichigo, glaring at his father.

Faking a stab in the heart, Isshin fell to the floor dramatically, "My only son got dumped by a girl, and he's even denying it! Poor soul!"

Karin laughed, "Don't worry goat-face, there _will be _a fiancée. She's always been his since the beginning," she winked at her brother before grabbing her father's shirt collar and dragging him away. "Come on…"

Ichigo stood with his mouth hung open, not believing his sister. "What do you mean by that?"

Yuzu giggled and pat her older brother's shoulder, "You'll understand some day!" she then pranced after her twin and father, leaving Ichigo alone to stand in the hall way.

After they left, he shook his head and started towards the garden. He needed some fresh air; he was surrounded by stupidity and people who are obviously hinting at something that he didn't understand. He understood that it was necessary for him, the king, to find a mate, but honestly, he couldn't stand the female race most of the time. He certainly knew he was fairly attractive, if he may say so himself, but he wasn't looking for women who constantly ogled him. Renji mentioned before that apparently he already had some "hardcore" admirers, whatever that meant.

"Ichigo?" He looked to the side to find Senna, who was previously looking at flowers, walking up to him. "You look lost in thought, something wrong?" she smiled, tilting her head to the side slightly.

"Nah, I'm just annoyed. Everyone, including my old man, has been pestering me about finding a mate. Even the nobles are getting into my business," said Ichigo, scratching the back of his head. He sighed and plopped down onto the grass in the middle of the garden and lied back, bringing his arms behind his head.

The female werewolf nodded, sitting down on the grass too. "Well, have you not found anyone you like?" she said, trying to get a little information out of him. She pet her tail as she sat, enjoying the moment.

"I haven't really been trying. All the woman I see try to flirt with me the moment they open their mouths," he closed his eyes, feeling the wind blow his hair out of his face. "Although, Renji apparently says that there are a few women who are actually serious about me."

Now this caught Senna's attention, she looked down at him, her expression softening when she noticed he had his eyes closed. "Well, maybe you should be more serious with them too. You never know, they might end up being the one for you," she said, her cheeks heating up a bit. _I might be the one for you_.

"Hmm… you know, I could use a walk," he got up, and stretched. "Wanna come along?"

Getting up too, Senna grinned, "Sure! Why don't we go into town?"

* * *

"Do you really need all this?" asked Rukia, impatient to go back to the castle. She was currently at a nearby outdoor market with Orihime getting ingredients for some sort of recipe.

"It's absolutely necessary! Lord Isshin is home, and I want to make a good impression! My last curry attempt failed, so I need to find another spicy dish to make!" said the bubbly woman excitedly, throwing different spices into her basket.

Orihime was a Fairy-human hybrid. She has many abilities of the fairies, but can't fully take advantage of all of them as she was not a full-fledged fairy. She used most of her powers to heal and possibly revive.

Rukia sighed, and rolled her eyes as the other woman continued to take forever. She looked around and glared at the werewolves who gave her weird looks because of her tails and ears. So what if she was different? That's what she hated about going to new places; everyone looked at you just because you were a little bit different. "Inoue, I'm going to look at the other shops," before getting an answer, she left. She needed to go to a less populated section of the town as it was making her feel a little claustrophobic.

Finding a nice lone shop near the outskirts of the town, she quickly ran into it, hoping to avoid anymore crowds. She exhaled heavily, and wiped her forehead.

"You seem tired dear," said a woman's voice from behind her. Rukia turned, finding a middle aged woman wearing a long dark robe sitting on a chair. The woman had dark long hair that reached the floor with some gray strands here and there. Her eyes had no color to them and were fully black. Looking into them was like looking into the dark void, "You seem troubled, my dear. You look lost…"

Rukia didn't know what to say as the woman seemed pretty sketchy. "K-kind of," she answered, a bit wary. Suddenly, she regretted coming into the store, because she could feel the dark vibes surrounding her.

"I can see it in your eyes. You're not from around here, and you have trouble trusting others," started the woman, staring into Rukia's amethyst orbs. Suddenly, Rukia could have sworn she saw a spark in the woman's eyes, "Have you a lover?"

A bit freaked out, she raised her eyebrows up high, "No?" She was really tempted to leave, but she was curious as to what this woman was looking for. "Why do you ask? And how do you know all this about me?"

The woman laughed, "That's a secret only for me to know, child," she stared straight into Rukia eyes with her own black orbs, looking at her very intently. "How is it that such a beautiful kitsune as you is without a mate? Or any admirers?" She chuckled in a creepy way which left goose bumps running all over Rukia's body.

The woman's gaze was anything but comfortable. Rukia felt like she was losing her mind, literally. She couldn't even take her eyes away, or move; her body was frozen to the spot. Something was definitely amiss, and she didn't like it one bit. "W-what's it to you?" she managed to say, suddenly feeling light headed. The woman's eyes instantly turned into slits.

"How can such a young child not appreciate being young and beautiful?! You don't deserve that life!" she screeched, with a voice of a serpent. The sides of her mouth widened far to the side of her faces, ending at the level her nose was at, giving the impression of a slit mouth. At the speed of light, she charged toward Rukia and grabbed her neck. The bottom half of her body was now that of a serpent, with sharp scales that pointed outwards and scratched against the wooden floor. Her face and skin were ghostly white. The hand she had wrapped around Rukia's neck was extremely strong, her sharp fingers nails seeped into the skin of Rukia's neck, causing blood to spill out of the cuts. She laughed, "A soul as bright as yours will keep me young for decades… you should be lucky it's going to be put to some good use." She opened her mouth wide, about to feast on Rukia's body and soul.

Rukia heaved for breath, glaring at the woma- no, _lamia_ type creature as she held her neck. Getting some control of her body back, she materialized her sword, and swung it at the lamia who swiftly moved away, glaring daggers at Rukia, her eyes glowing red.

"Don't fucking touch me!" yelled Rukia, holding the hilt of her snow white sword tighter. It took less than ten minutes for her to get trapped and attacked by some monster, which was ridiculous! And to think Ichigo said it was safe in his kingdom! Like hell!

During their walk through town, Senna forced Ichigo to make several stops to look at ornaments in shops, and get snacks. They were engaged in friendly conversation, while Senna was slightly clung to Ichigo to make sure other girls stayed away. Of course the werewolf himself was oblivious to his surroundings and simply enjoyed his walk. "Look, Ichigo, it's Inoue!" said Senna, grabbing Ichigo's wrist and running over to Orihime.

At the sound of her name, Orihime turned to find the two coming toward her, "Lord Ichigo! Senna! How nice to see you two! What are you doing out here?" asked Orihime, obviously not delighted to see them _together_.

Before Ichigo could answer, Senna answered for him, "We're out for a stroll," she said, making it sound a bit "more" than it actually was, a "stroll" she said.

The auburn haired woman smiled politely, "That sounds nice. I was actually out getting ingredients with Rukia, but she went to go look at other shops elsewhere and hasn't come back. It has been a while, and I'm a bit concerned," she said, looking in the direction Rukia went in with worry.

Ichigo widened his eyes a bit, one of his ears twitching. "Senna, do you hear that?" He swore he could hear Rukia, possibly a battle cry, and some sort of monstrous screeching. The sound was vague, but it was there.

Senna listened around, but could only hear the cacophony of sounds the townspeople created. She shook her head, "No?"

Then, Rukia's reiatsu noticeably spiked up high causing Orihime to gasp.

"Your majesty!" called one of the palace soldiers. He ran up to Ichigo and bent over on his knees, heaving for breath. "The lamia we have been searching for has been spotted! She was seen fighting a kitsune, and attempting to attack young girls!" he said frantically, gesturing with his hands for Ichigo to follow.

Ichigo widened his eyes, "Kitsune? That must be Rukia!" he said, shunpoing after the soldier with Orihime and Senna following close behind.

"I hope Rukia's okay," said Orihime, holding her hands to her heart as she ran.

While Senna was concerned for Rukia too, she couldn't help but notice Ichigo's anxiety, and felt a bit jealous. It was wrong of her to think that way as anyone would be worried, and she was sure Ichigo would act the same way towards anyone else… but there was a certain look in his eyes that didn't appear for anyone other than Kuchiki Rukia.

Arriving at the scene, the three stopped in their tracks, taking in the scene before them.

Rukia and the lamia creature could be seen holding each other off in the center of a clearing. The lamia's claws were pushing at Rukia's sword, hissing as the blade cut through her scaly skin. There were human and werewolves watching from inside the stores and houses, keeping their children inside, especially the girls. There was a group of young orphans huddled up in a corner who weren't able to escape without getting attacked. They watched in fear as the lamia eyed them with hatred.

"Rukia!" yelled Ichigo, just about to jump in.

"Don't!" yelled Rukia, knowing exactly what he was about to do. "You're the king, right? Instead of fighting, get your people to safety!" she gestured her head toward the orphans behind her. She had been fending off the monster from attacking the other young girls. She gave the orphans time to run, but they were frozen from fear and weren't able to move, so she needed to get them away.

The orange haired werewolf widened his eyes. He bit his lip, but nodded and did as she said. He knew Rukia could take care of herself, but there were times he wasn't so sure. But she was right; he had to get the people away while she held off the monster.

The lamia had snuck in during the night hours a few weeks ago after terrorizing the town nearby, and Ichigo has had people tracking it down, but it finally came out today. Something must have triggered it to.

The lamia growled, "You stupid girl! Die already," she lunged at Rukia, her sharp claws out stretched, very close to Rukia's face. The kitsune dodged it, ripping the bottom of her dress while at it. In fear of causing a lot of damage to the town, she had restrained herself from using her dances and was limited to the constraining demon arts, and mere swordsmanship, which wasn't exactly her forte. If she could've used her dances, the fight would've been over long ago, but she had to take notice of her surroundings. Ichigo's abilities were much easier to work with in smaller spaces… kind of, but his fighting style often destroyed everything.

"Bakudo nine, Geki!" yelled Rukia, engulfing the lamia in red light, paralyzing her.

She ran toward the monster, ready to make the finishing blow when she heard Orihime yell behind her, "Rukia, behind you! That was a decoy you paralyzed!" Rukia widened her eyes, turning behind her to see the lamia and all her ugly glory about to ultimately make a blow. She tightened her fists, ready for her skin to meet with the sharp nails of the monster. However, rather than feeling the pain she was expecting, the sound of clashing metal entered her ears, making her widen her eyes wider.

"Ichigo…," she said, blinking.

Ichigo glanced back at her for a moment, "I _am _the king, so I have to protect my people. I can't have a foreigner protecting my people for me or I'll have to owe you something," laughed Ichigo jokingly. "I'll finish this off," he said, pushing the lamia aside with his black chained sword.

"Anyone who attacks my friends and my people must pay the penalty," in the blink of eye, he was gone. And before anyone knew it, his sword had pierced through the heart of the lamia, "Getsuga… tenshou!" he yelled, cutting the lamia in half with his black energy engulfed sword.

The lamia screamed as she began disintegrating. She screeched before disappearing for good, black smoke evaporating into the sky.

Ichigo whipped his sword, blood flying off its blade. All the towns people then cheered, several girl coming up to him yelling, "You were _sooooooo_ brave, your majesty! You were gallant, and absolutely handsome!" squealed the girls.

Rukia chuckled, her sword disappearing from her hand. "What a pain in the ass. Of course it was my luck that I ran into a Greek monster!" she complained, wiping dirt and blood off her face. "That's what jealousy can do to you. It turns you into an inhuman bitch," she said, speaking to no one in particular, but was heard by Orihime and Senna.

Orihime ran to Rukia and gave her a large hug, "You were so brave! You looked so cool too! I'm so happy you're okay!" she then started the waterworks, something that Rukia dreaded.

"Calm down, there's no need to cry. I should be the one crying for having my day ruined," frowned Rukia, petting the other girl's head. Normally she was in a good mood and was rather friendly, or at least friendly to her standards, but there was always that one event that turned her mood sour. Byakuya always said that was a bad trait of hers, if a whole line of events throughout the day pisses her off, she becomes rather moody.

Finally able to escape the crowd, Ichigo walked over to where Rukia and Orihime stood, with Senna on the side watching closely. "Shit, I think I just scored myself some fanboys," he said, scratching the back of his head. "Anyways, where did you find that lamia?" he asked Rukia, serious.

"Well, I found this lonely shop that seemed deserted over there," she said, pointing over to where the shop was. "I get claustrophobic easily, so I needed to find a nice empty place. Then that lamia was badly disguised as a middle aged woman who looked kind of sketchy, and she started asking me all these pointless questions and then just deliberately attacked me. She was probably consumed by jealousy or something. Greek monsters for some reason are always motivated by emotions, or so I've read…," she droned, a frown on her face.

Ichigo lifted a single brow, "I think you need a bath, sleep, and some cut cucumber. You're being like one of my generals right now, Ulquiorra, I think his name is?" He ruffled her hair, and grinned. "Let's go, Hime-chama," he said, smacking her in the back of the head with his tail, something she hated, earning him a smack.

Orihime giggled and followed behind the two. While she did have feelings for Ichigo, she was open to others liking him as well. Plus, she already knew that when it came to Rukia, she lost without even a chance. One could try though, right?

Senna on the other hand was nowhere near as lenient and laid back as Orihime was about the whole ordeal. She followed far back behind the others, a quizzical expression, clearly plastered on her face. She had known Ichigo for years, and couldn't understand what Rukia brought out in him, that she couldn't? Senna didn't just like him… she was _in love _with him, in every way imaginable.

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**_A/N:_ **Please excuse my horrible attempts at action scenes! I was never an action writer anyways... so whatever. And it's like 4 AM right now, and I already read it over a few times, so I'm praying that there aren't too many mistakes. I hope it wasn't too boring!

I have a poll on my profile for different genres that you guys want me to write more of! I'm starting to lose the spark in writing slice of life, haha, and I want to try something new!

**Please review! Tell me your predictions! [Am I that predictable?]**


	3. Chapter 3: Ignorance

**A/N: **Sorry, it's been so long since I updated. I've had some writer's block from the lack of Rukia in the manga... so I'm pretty rusty, so excuse me for that!

You guys asked for more than three chapters, so instead of getting straight to business, I used this chapter to concentrate a little more on the interactions in this chapter, as well as giving Ashido some screen time. _So that preview from the last chapter was just a teaser for chapters to come... sorry!_

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**_Disclaimer: _**Bleach owns me. Not the other way around.

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_**Chapter 3: Ignorance**_

That night, after the group of four returned to the palace, Rukia immediately retired to her room for some much needed sleep, skipping dinner in the process. She normally didn't succumb to lethargy as quickly as she did today, but she hadn't been sleeping her usual hours every night due to the differences between the werewolves' and kitsune's sleep schedules. Werewolves stayed up pretty late into the night and woke up around noon, while kitsune went to bed a couple of hours after sunset -depending on the season, and woke up at around twilight. And with her internal clock confused, she was constantly tired, and wasn't able to relieve it.

The sleep she got that night definitely replenished her energy, making her feel years better. Kitsune depended heavily on sleep as it restored their energy, and allowed their star balls to recharge. Hence her reiatsu was now being distributed evenly throughout her body, and her mental state was much more stable.

At about midnight, Rukia awoke from her slumber, feeling rather groggy. She didn't feel like getting out of bed, but she was sick of sleeping. She laid on her side for a few more minutes to fully wake up, groaning when she finally decided to sit up.

"I'm hungry…," she said, her stomach grumbling. She was positive that no one was in the kitchen at this time of night, so she could quickly make some onigiri; she was tired of western food, and felt the need for some simple Japanese cuisine.

There were people definitely still awake in the palace, that she was affirmative of, and she was hoping to not encounter anyone, which was not likely. She honestly hated meeting people she barely knew and making fake small talk with them; she preferred to just avoid people altogether. It was easier that way.

Back in Japan, when she was younger, she was constantly bombarded with questions, favors, and suggestions. And she was constantly surrounded by nobles and royalty from other kingdoms pretending to be nice in hopes of getting close to her brother. Everyone was a fake, a phony. She lived her life acting like a fake princess, saying things that she didn't even mean, and watching Byakuya close himself further from the world. In the end, she secluded herself from the world. Sure, she interacted with people on a daily basis, but she didn't have friends, or anyone who even knew what her favorite color was, not even her brother. She was always friendly, but not exactly the definition of "outgoing." She had some acquaintances, but she knew full well that they were nothing but liars, gossipers, and fakes. Ichigo could have very well been her first real friend, which was kind of sad. But she could hardly care less to be honest. Life in the palace was nothing but a game.

Sighing, Rukia left her room after making herself appear more presentable. She walked down the corridor, heading for the upstairs kitchen. It was a small kitchen that Orihime and Yuzu frequently occupied. One could say it was a kitchen specifically for them as the kitchen downstairs was abnormally large, and was constantly occupied by chefs.

Speaking of Orihime, the auburn haired woman probably left for her own house by now. The reason why she was constantly at the palace was because she was the royal healer, which is ironic seeing as she was always cooking. She wasn't always cooking though. Sometimes she would be working with herbs, and homeopathic drugs.

And as for Senna, she hung around the palace mostly because she had nothing better to do. She is the daughter of an aristocrat noble, and being a rather close friend to the Kurosakis, she practically lived in the palace. She had her own clothes line, and spent most of her time designing clothes, and playing the violin. She was the definition of a well bred western noblewoman.

Upon entering the kitchen, Rukia looked around for rice. Karin sometimes asked Yuzu to make Japanese food from time to time, so rice was a staple in Yuzu's ingredients list. She looked in every nook and cranny, but found nothing but potatoes, and some spices from the Middle East. Rukia frowned, and crossed her arms. With only ingredients from the west, she couldn't possibly make anything that tasted any better than Orihime's concoctions. It just wasn't possible.

She looked around the kitchen for at least something edible, and found a whole cucumber lying in a basket of other vegetables. After staring at it for a second, debating whether she should take it or not, she picked it up and grabbed a knife, cutting it into slices. "So this is my dinner...," she said, an amused smile forming on her face. To her, cucumber was more of a snack rather than a meal, but it was filling for her little petite body.

Finding herself a nice small ceramic plate with a bunny on it, she left the kitchen, planning on sitting outside. There was a lake not too far away from the palace that she often went to. It reminded her of the lake near the Kuchiki manor that Ichigo had found her sitting by on the night of the festival all those months ago.

Arriving near the lake, she was surprised to already see people there. She couldn't make out who they were as she could only see their silhouettes, but their voices sounded familiar. There was a man and woman sitting at the edge talking. Rukia quickly masked her reiatsu, and jumped into a tree, trying to be as quiet as possible. She didn't like to eavesdrop, but the voice of the woman definitely sounded like Karin. "Hey, Toshiro, do you think my brother would notice if I ran away?"

"What kind of question is that? And of course he would!" said the man, presumably General Hitsugaya, with irritation evident in his voice. He sat facing the lake with one of his legs bent upward, an arm resting on that leg, and the other leg sprawled flat down on the ground. "And you're not running away!"

"Well, why not? I'm sick of play fighting, and I want to get some 'real' action in my pathetic little life," said Karin, sitting up from her laying position. Her hair was out of its usual ponytail, and her dress was hiked up to past her knees, showing that they were close enough that she didn't mind acting her usual lax way around him.

Rukia rolled her eyes, and Karin said they were on strictly "work terms!"

"You're a princess. You're not even supposed to be training with a sword, let alone fighting for real," he said in reply, picking at the grass.

Karin frowned, "Don't start with that again, Toshiro! Being a princess is no excuse for becoming a damsel in distress. Why should I let others protect me when I'm fully capable of protecting myself? It's a waste of skills, and potential." She crawled forward to the absolute edge of the lake and stuck her legs in, swishing around.

The white haired general didn't reply. He simply sat still, allowing the breeze to pass by.

If Rukia didn't know any better, it looked like he was staring at Karin's back as she splashed her feet in the water. And she wasn't sure if she was seeing correctly –kitsune eyesight at night wasn't the greatest- but it looked an awful lot like he was playing with the bottom of her dress.

Even though she had suspected, or rather knew, that something was going on between the two, this definitely hinted at it. Normally, Karin would gag at this kind of thing, but now, it was Rukia gagging. Well, she actually didn't find this gag-worthy, really. It was surprisingly sweet.

She picked up a cucumber slice, bringing it up to her mouth. Right as she was about to bite onto it, she let out a gasp and dropped it, causing it to fall out of the tree and hit the bushes below. Apparently, there was a piece of pointed bark sticking out of the tree, and Rukia had accidentally jabbed her tail with it. Realizing her mistake, she moved as close to the tree as she could, and kept her tails out of view.

"What was that?" asked Karin, a single ear twitching. She turned to look at her companion before looking around the area.

"It was probably just a pixie," answered Toshiro, looking uninterested as usual. "It's getting late. I should leave; my men are probably getting out of hand around about now. Not to mention, I need to make sure Matsumoto stays sober enough to walk back to her own room without breaking another vase," he said, obviously not looking forward to his fate.

Karin chuckled, shooting a smirk his way, "I owe her; that vase was ugly… but it didn't really help that she vomited in it before she broke it." She pulled her legs out of the water and stood, holding the bottom of her dress up to prevent her dress from getting wet. "Anyways, see ya' tomorrow. And you don't have to walk me back tonight, I think I'll stay a little longer," she said, giving him a wave with her hand, smiling.

Rukia lifted a brow, a smirk slowly forming on her face, _Oh? He even walks her back?_

Toshiro looked at her for a moment longer, as if waiting for her to change her mind, before sticking his hands in his pockets and turning to leave, "Bye, Kurosaki."

Karin glanced at his retreating form from the corner of her eye, before sighing. Once she was sure he was gone, she walked over to the tree Rukia was hiding in, and shook her head at the single slice of cucumber in the bush. "Nice try, Kuchiki. You hid your reiatsu fine, but werewolves have a strong sense of smell. I don't know if Toshiro noticed you, but I definitely knew it was you since you constantly give off a smell of lavender, mint, and vanilla."

The dark haired kitsune rolled her eyes, jumping down from the tree. "Well, I guess I'm flattered to know I smell good rather than bad," she said, sarcastically. She then grinned slyly, "So… what's tomorrow?"

The other woman's cheeks tinted pink, "Why do you need to know?" She quickly spun around and put on her shoes before stomping away. "And don't think anything is going on between us! So don't go telling my brother anything fishy!"

"Why would I tell Ichigo anything? Plus, I barely see him anymore, save for earlier today," Rukia followed after Karin, still carrying her ceramic plate of cucumbers.

"Oh, that's right. You caused quite a bit of trouble in town today," laughed Karin, stopping mid-step to retie her hair with the red ribbon she often used. "I wish I could've been there. Nothing interesting even happens around here."

* * *

_The Next Morning…_

"Mind if we join you, ladies?" asked Ichigo, a book in hand with Ashido directly behind him. Just from the look of the active swinging of Ichigo's tail, it seemed he was in a rather good mood this morning. Lately, he had been stressed taking care of his kingdom's affairs, as well as foreign affairs, so the fact that he was attempting to relax was a good sign.

"Of course not, please do!" answered Senna, looking a bit too enthusiastic. She honestly looked like a puppy about to get a treat; her eyes were glowing, and you could practically see hearts in them. It was a wonder how the orange haired werewolf didn't notice her undying love.

Currently, Rukia, Orihime, and Senna were enjoying the outside breeze in the garden, while taste-testing different drinks for the upcoming ball. They had yet to come to an agreement on which drinks would appeal to all guests. They sat at a large round circular table that had very intricate designs cut out of the surface, with a round metal tray placed in the middle with tea pots, wine bottles, and cups filled with different beverages.

"This is too bitter," said Rukia, scrunching up her nose in disgust, and placing the glass down. "How do you guys even drink more than two sips of this?"

Orihime tilted her head in confusion, "I think it tastes strong, not really bitter." She looked down at her glass, and swished the liquid around in the cup before taking another sip. She lifted her index finger to her chin, and concentrated on the taste, "Hm… it is a little bitter, but not too bitter."

"I think it tastes perfectly fine, not bitter at all. What do you think, Ichigo?" asked Senna, drinking some more.

Ichigo placed his book down on the table, and took a seat to across from Rukia. Without even asking, he took the glass out of the Rukia's hands and swished the beverage around in the glass, sniffing it, and then drinking.

"Tastes like cabernet. This is pretty mild already, so I don't know why you think it's really bitter," he said.

Ashido, noticing the tinge of annoyance on the kitsune's face from having her glass taken out of her hand, allowed a tint of a smile to grace his normally emotionless face. He poured himself some of the wine, and tasted it, "Perhaps due to Rukia's cultural differences, she isn't used to European wine, so it tastes bitter to her. Kitsune taste food differently compared to us werewolves," he said, drinking more of the red wine. "Merlot and Pinot Noir are softer and milder, so you should give those a try."

Grabbing her glass back and glaring at Ichigo, she politely smiled to the other man, "Thank you for pointing that out. I feel people forget that from time to time," she said, laughing. She looked down at the red wine curiously, considering trying it again.

Before she could have another sip, Senna, who had watched Ichigo drink out of the kitsune's cup, quickly brought out a different bottle of alcohol in hopes of changing the subject. "How about we try this now? I've been eying it for awhile now!"

Immediately, Orihime let out a loud gasp, "Senna! I wasn't aware you were into such strong alcohol!" She pointed to the bottle of greenish liquid, "Few fairies can get a hold of Absinthe, and its effect is very strong! It's definitely not suitable for a ball!"

"How did this get here?" Ichigo, again, lacking manners, took the bottle from the purple haired werewolf, and observed it. He looked around the bottle before finding the exact seal he was looking for. "This is one of the bottles from Urahara's and Yoruichi's personal alcohol stash. The seal is right here," he said, his eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. "Why is it here?"

No one could steal from the crazy couple's stash and get away with it alive, nor would the couple willingly give up a bottle of their precious alcohol. Unless… his father bribed or black mailed them into giving him a bottle so he could drink it himself, but it was then probably misplaced, and eventually brought here by the maids by accident.

That probably was what happened too.

"Your father is dead meat," piped up Rukia, pitying Isshin's awaiting fate. "Yoruichi-sama doesn't take the stealing of her drinks lightly. And I'm surprised your father got past Soifon's eyes."

Not at all surprised that Rukia had figured out it was his father's doing, Ichigo shrugged and placed the bottle down on the ground, next to his chair. "I honestly don't care; I just want to return this before sunset."

Rukia sat there, confused for minute, "What's tonight?" she asked, not completely knowledgeable of werewolf culture.

"Tonight's the full moon," answered Ashido, the breeze making his maroon hair flutter softly. "If I recall, that doesn't affect kitsune?"

Rukia shook her head, "No, it doesn't, which is probably why I wasn't aware of this event," she said shrugging. "I'm a bit ignorant about different cultures. So, what exactly happens during the full moon? I read in books that werewolves lose their mind and transform, or something akin to that."

"Eh, not really; the mentally vulnerable and disabled are more apt to going insane, but even they don't transform. We technically just have a harder time controlling our emotions. You could say our emotions are much stronger, and we become a slight bit more impulsive than we are regularly. Some people get moody, or even bipolar. You could say we're drunk, yet not. It depends," said Ichigo, stretching his arms before opening his book. "Which is why I think it's better to give the absinthe back before those nut jobs come here with a killing intent later tonight."

Everyone let out a small chuckle before continuing with their usual affairs. Ichigo was reading, while Ashido sat quietly enjoying his wine. The females of the group chattered and tested drinks as they had before, not minding the new presences.

"I can't wait for the ball! I hear that many creatures are being invited here from all over the world," Orihime squealed in delight, stars evident in her eyes. "Mr. Schiffer and Mr. Ishida are going to be attending too! I've admired their talents from afar for so long, tehe."

"Many other men are being invited as well to be possible suitors for Karin and Yuzu, while women are being invited for Ichigo's sake, according to the desires of Isshin," brought up Ashido. "The efforts are mostly for Ichigo though, since Karin will most likely refuse every single man there, which only leaves Yuzu."

Suddenly, Rukia choked on her drink, while Senna nearly spat hers out. The dark haired kitsune cleared her throat, softly coughing into her handkerchief. Senna swallowed her drink slowly, and wiped her mouth with her own handkerchief.

"Are you ladies okay?" asked Ashido, concern written on his face.

Clearing her throat, Rukia laughed, "I'm fine, thank you. I drank a bit faster than I should have."

With a pouty frown, Senna answered politely, "I'm okay, thanks." Discontentment was clearly visible on her face, but not in a way that could possibly ruin anyone else's happiness. She quickly looked over at Ichigo, and sighed in relief when she noticed he was still reading and had not paid them any attention. He always did have a great attention span, especially when reading.

Meanwhile, Orihime giggled, and nudged Rukia on the side, to which the other woman looked at her questioningly. "You don't need to hide it, I completely understand," the auburn haired woman whispered, grinning, "I saw through your excuse, Rukia."

"What? That a bee actually surprised me?" laughed Rukia, "Your perception skills are impressive."

At that, Orihime's expression turned from delighted, to disappointed. She crossed her arms and pouted, sinking into her chair, "You're no fun. Why do you have to always be so… realistic all the time?" she whispered loudly.

Rukia raised a single brow, an ear twitching, "I don't understand. Was there something else I was supposed to say? Enlighten me," she said, genuinely clueless. She put her wine glass down to give her friend her full attention, curiosity flowing through her mind.

"Well… you're supposed to say that you're jealous that the ball is supposed to be for Ichigo so he can find a wife," whispered Orihime in frustration. "You were supposed to drop your wine glass in tears, and run away which would lead to Ichigo run after you and grab you by the wrist. He would calm you down and explain that, that's not what he wanted and then you guys were supposed to kiss and live happily ever after with three unicorns and tons of children."

Dumbfounded, Rukia stared at the woman next to her as though she had just grown a third head, "Why would I do any of that? And why would any of that happen anyways?" Her eyes widened at Orihime's overactive imagination, refusing to believe that her friend even imagined her, the kitsune princess, acting that weak and ludicrous. Normally the busty fairy hybrid was a little out of the blue, but she never came up with stories as crazy as _that_.

Firstly, Rukia could care less about the main objective of the ball. Like she said to Karin all those months ago, Ichigo could do whatever he wanted. Whatever he did didn't concern her in the least. She would never say that in front of him though, since it would show that she even acknowledged the idea and answered to it, but of course, that was only Rukia logic.

Secondly, she wasn't hurt emotionally very easily. Even if all her allies betrayed her, she still wouldn't have run away in tears. And never, ever would she allow someone to chase after her. She was a woman with pride after all, and didn't need a man to chase after her. Ichigo wouldn't have done that anyways. He knew her too well, and if she actually did run away, there wouldn't be a reason for him to do that either.

And the rest of Orihime's story was not even acknowledgeable, so she completely disregarded that altogether.

Sighing, Orihime shook her head, finding it pointless to tell her friend, who would just deny it anyways.

"So… Rukia, I haven't talked to you much since we met in the library," brought up Ashido, smiling politely. "I never got to ask, but how is your stay so far?"

Rukia grinned back, "It's great, much more comfortable than at home, ironically," she answered, happy to avoid the earlier subject. "There are many more warm faces, not just empty shells."

"Then that's good to know. Is your stay here that much different from back in Japan?" The maroon haired man raised his eyebrows in interest.

"It's much different. At home, people talked to me because they had to, or whenever I asked something. No one spoke unless spoken to, which rubbed off on me. There were kind people, but mostly everyone was a stranger to me. And all the nobles I was forced to interact with as a child were all fakes. You could say I lived an anti-social life," she said casually, pouring herself a cup of tea.

Ashido nodded his head, "Despite that, you seem very sociable to me," he said, watching her intently as she gracefully moved the tea pot to its original spot.

"That's because...," she started, unsure of what to say. She notices that Ichigo had paused from his reading and was looking up at her, as if also waiting for her reply. Feeling a little uncomfortable under everyone's curious eyes, she made sure not to make eye contact with anyone. She looked down at her tea cup and smiled softly, as if remembering a distant memory, "Here, it's warm. There's a vibe of warmth and acceptance," she said, neither lying nor telling the complete truth.

She would never admit it, but... it was actually because of Ichigo that she was willing to open up to others. His laid back and uncouth self was always great at breaking through the walls that people built for themselves, which wasn't always a good thing. Rukia kept her wall of ice strong for years; no invader could bring it down. Well, except for a certain orange haired werewolf of course. Being his usual hot-headed self, he had completely melted the wall she had worked so hard to build, and strengthen.

Ashido, in reply, smiled genuinely, his maroon hair radiating the sun's light. His ears, which were previously hidden within his hair, were noticeable now that… she really looked at him. It wasn't that she never looked at him, she just never took the chance to pay attention to what he looked like; he was very attractive. He was almost on par with Ichigo, not that she paid any _real_ attention to men's looks. It was only natural to notice exceptionally handsome men; she was a woman after all. And she wasn't going to deny that she found Ichigo attractive, mostly because he was, without a doubt, one of the most handsome men she had ever seen.

Speaking of the orange haired werewolf, she found that his stare, or rather, gaze, was the most uncomfortable to be under. For once, she couldn't quite decipher the emotions displayed on his face. Well, it wasn't that his face was an open stage; it was the same scowl constantly.

It was more of his eyes that she so often read like books, but this time, there were so many mixed emotions hidden in his eyes that she couldn't read, which annoyed her to no end.

Yet, she, for some reason, was afraid to find out what those emotions were.

Senna, not feeling exactly content with Ichigo staring at Rukia so intently, cleared her throat loudly. "That's great, Rukia! There are plenty of wonderful men going to the ball, so you'll have no problem getting acquainted," she said, only faking half of her enthusiasm.

She really did genuinely like Rukia, but she just couldn't stand how much she affected how Ichigo acted. She couldn't stand to see his silent, but obvious, affection. It couldn't be mere care for a friend; it was much stronger than that. Whatever their confusing relationship was, it was on the brink of romance, and she wasn't comfortable just standing by and watching.

Even though the chance of him falling in love with her was slim, she wanted to try. Maybe, just maybe, he could look her way.

"I'm not really interested in finding a partner at the moment, if that's what you mean," Rukia said, laughing. "Besides, many men would rather approach other women before they would me," she chuckled, as if what she said meant nothing, simply shrugging it off.

Ichigo opened his mouth slightly, and then shut it, choosing to stay silent, not even knowing why he even opened his mouth or what he would have said.

"If that's the case, then would you mind accompanying me to the ball?" brought up Ashido, amusement evident on his face.

Now, this caught the attention of everyone at the table.

Orihime tried to keep her mouth closed, but it would just drop every time. Was she hearing correctly? Was the glint of interest in Ashido's eyes only in her imagination? And why was she so excited about this?

Rukia widened her eyes in surprise, "Ano…," she said, a tinge of pink reaching her cheeks. She stared dumbfounded at the other man, not sure what to say, "I... it's not that I don't want to go with you; I've just never been really asked this before. But I'll be more than happy to share a dance with you."

"That's more than fine for me," answered the other man, smiling.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Ichigo got up from his chair, closing his book in the progress. He didn't seem necessarily mad, but there was a sense of agitation radiating from him. And if possible, his scowl might have been even more intense than it normally was, "I need to go meet up with someone, see you later," he said, walking away. His ear was noticeably twitchy for a second, but it stopped quicker than it started.

* * *

_Later That Night…_

Watching the stars above her in the night sky, she sighed heavily. After Ichigo had left the table that morning, she noticed the remaining people were acting rather strange. It was mostly Orihime and Senna more than it was Ashido though.

Orihime kept laughing awkwardly, giving her these pointed looks as though she just started a fire and poured oil into it, while Senna just avoided eye contact with her, and stopped talking to everyone altogether. She, as usual, didn't know why. No one ever told her anything, and expected that she automatically knew why they acted the way they did. It was aggravating.

"Yo," Rukia jumped slightly in surprise and turned around, coming face to face with Ichigo whose features were hidden. Despite him blocking the moon's light, she could tell he didn't seem as tense as earlier, but he still held a bit of the earlier agitation.

"Hey… and you seem okay," she said, observing his behavior, not finding it as "weird" as he had described it that morning. He looked composed, and controlled, not at all off-sober.

He chuckled, "I've never been one to get controlled by my emotions," he said, plopping down on the roof.

They sat comfortably on the roof of the palace, enjoying view of the town, and mountains. It was relaxing, especially with the cool breeze blowing through their hair. Both their backs faced the full moon, casting a shadow over their faces.

"So, you feel warmth and acceptance here I see?" he brought up, teasing her. He lied down on his back and stretched out, making himself more comfortable.

She rolled her eyes, and chuckled, "Yeah, so? It doesn't concern you does it?" _Or maybe it does._

"Everything about you concerns me," he said, his voice bearing complete seriousness. His eyelids were shut closed, his arms were bent under his head with one leg laid flat down, and another bent; it was probably the most casual position a king could be in.

She raised a single brow, not sure what he meant, "What is that supposed to mean?" she questioned, turning towards him.

"It means exactly what it means," he said vaguely, not caring that he wasn't making any sense. Normally, she could understand him without even having to talk to him, or even look at him, but lately, she felt like he was closing himself off. Every time he talked to her, there was always a teasing tone behind every word. It was like he couldn't talk to her anymore. It frustrated her to no end that he wouldn't talk to her normally. Even before she got in that fight with the lamia, she had noticed a change in how he acted. He was still the same old Ichigo she knew, yet there was something off about him that she couldn't quite catch.

Sighing, she scrunched her eyebrows, "Is something bothering you?" she asked, turning her body to face him.

One of his ears twitched, "No, what makes you think that?" he asked, sparing her a glance.

"Okay! I've had enough. Did I do something to make act like this?" she asked, looking him straight in the eye. "Ever since I came here, we barely talk, and when we do, I feel like you don't treat me the same.

"We haven't talked in awhile like we used to, and the only times we did talk, it was barely two minut-" she stopped mid-sentence when he sat up, and looked straight into her eyes with complete seriousness.

He stared at her for a couple of minutes, before cracking a smirk, "I didn't know you cared about such things?" he said, looking back out at the view. "And if you really want to know, I've been having a hard time lately, especially tonight with the full moon out."

She waited for him to continue, playing with her dress.

"I tried to stay away from you… but I couldn't, not tonight," he said, much to Rukia's surprise. His gaze was up at the night sky, trying its best not to meet her eyes.

"Ichi-" she reached for his shoulder, only to pull back when she realized even she had a hard time _touching _him. Her eyes widened as she pulled her hand back, she didn't even touch him yet and she was already feeling awkward.

Spending time away from him really did changes things.

He turned to her slowly, a kind expression on his face. "Despite being under the same palace, I kind of miss you," he said, slowly ever so slowly inching forward.

"Oh… uh, I missed you too," she said, feeling awkward. She wasn't lying when she said that, but she felt a little… heated with him so close. Before she knew it, she had looked away for a moment only to glance back and see him so close into her personal space.

_Why is he acting like this?_

He started playing with the bottom of her dress, his shoulder practically touching hers. "Rukia…," he whispered, his breath blowing against the side of her face. He was a few inches away from her face, definitely within kissing distance. She could feel the heat radiating off his skin, sending goose bumps up her arms.

Immediately, she moved away from him and stood up, flustered. "Ichigo… you're obviously not in your right mind right now," she said, her eyes slightly wide. She held her star ball close to her, trying to keep her reiatsu controlled, while Ichigo just stared up at her with his usual scowl. When she looked down at his sitting form, she could make out her own reflection in his amber orbs, her vulnerable reflection.

For once in her life, she did know why her heart was beating so fast, and why she couldn't be so close to him. She understood why she was so uncomfortable around him, and why she got goose bumps when he was so close.

She allowed Kurosaki Ichigo to break through, yet, another wall she had built around her heart.

* * *

**A/N: **Finally, we're getting somewhere with these two. And just to clarify,_ Ichigo's hormones were out of it at the end, as well as his pheromones_, in case you were confused.

**_Please review_! I would like to know if people still read this story! **


	4. Chapter 4: Realization

_Previously…_

_He started playing with the bottom of her dress, his shoulder practically touching hers. "Rukia…," he whispered, his breath blowing against the side of her face. He was a few inches away from her face, definitely within kissing distance. She could feel the heat radiating off his skin, sending goose bumps up her arms._

_Immediately, she moved away from him and stood up, flustered. "Ichigo… you're obviously not in your right mind right now," she said, her eyes slightly wide. She held her star ball close to her, trying to keep her reiatsu controlled, while Ichigo just stared up at her with his usual scowl. When she looked down at his sitting form, she could make out her own reflection in his amber orbs, her vulnerable reflection._

_For once in her life, she did know why her heart was beating so fast, and why she couldn't be so close to him. She understood why she was so uncomfortable around him, and why she got goose bumps when he was so close._

_She allowed Kurosaki Ichigo to break through, yet, another wall she had built around her heart._

* * *

Disclaimer: Bleach owns me.

* * *

_**Chapter 4: Realization**_

The next morning, Rukia awoke in her bed, exhausted. She technically hadn't been sleeping, rather, she had been stuck in a hypnagogic state. Events from last night on the roof inked and burned into her brain, playing several times back to her throughout the night.

Sighing heavily, she looked up at the ceiling of the room, trying to avoid the glaring sunlight coming from her windows and balcony door. Her experience from last night bothered her more than it should have, and she found it very troublesome to think about. She had forgotten it for a whole minute before it came bursting back into her memories.

Really, it wasn'tlife-changing that she would be so bothered by it. Perhaps it was just Ichigo's abnormal behavior, or the expression that he held most of the night that sent butterflies crazy in her stomach. Whatever it was, she didn't want to ponder on it any longer. She already admitted to herself last night that she might harbor some feelings for Ichigo, but nothing near Senna's level of "I'm absolutely in love with his eyes, face, voice, and everything." It was a simple… friendly attraction. Of course, that's what it was!

Well… maybe it was a little more than friendly attraction. It was to be expected though, like Karin said, _"-It's nearly impossible for a male and a female to share a platonic love without there being at least one point in time where one of the counterparts felt something more for the other."_

She didn't want to admit that Karin was correct, but as a mature kitsune royal, she admitted only the truth, or at least what she believed to be the truth. And Karin was right in this kind of situation.

So what if she –kind of– liked Ichigo? It's not like their friendship would be changed at all since it was only her with the feelings. It wasn't hard for her to hide her emotions, so she was sure Ichigo wouldn't notice, much to her relief. As long as she didn't stare at him and act obviously like Senna, she could act as if nothing happened, and everything was the same, or at least she thought.

Sitting up, she was greeted with knocking at the door, "Come in," she said, groggy. Momo stepped in with her face full of sunshine, her feline tail happily swinging in the air with energy.

"How are you this morning?" asked the bubbly maid, a folded towel and bathrobe in her arms.

"Not the best. I barely got any sleep last night," Rukia blinked several times, trying to wake herself up. Drowsily, she pulled off the blankets and attempted to get out of the bed only to nearly fall face forward into the ground, causing her ears, which were originally drooped over, to suddenly straighten up in alarm.

"I can see that!" Momo helped Rukia keep her balance, and made sure she was upright before walking over to the bathroom, "I think you need a much appreciated bath."

Rukia nodded, her mind going blank, "That sounds amazing right now."

After the werecat set up the bath, she left to give Rukia her privacy. Slowly sinking herself into the warm water, she sighed in delight, enjoying the feeling of water against her skin. Water was so pure and clean, and she couldn't help but love its cleansing properties. Even though her tails didn't tolerate water as easily as her skin, she was still able to enjoy bathes, despite the mild irritation. She always did have a strange connection with water, especially when it was frozen into snow, which was why the Kuchiki manor was built in Hokkaido. She had always preferred colder weather as she was often subject to fainting spells in hotter drier weather. And due to Byakuya's concern over her health, he built several manors throughout Japan, but resided in southern Hokkaido, where the temperatures leaned cooler than warmer so Rukia remained comfortable.

Leaning against the side of the large tub, Rukia laid her head back against edge, closing her eyes. As if all night wasn't enough, the image of Ichigo under the moon's light flashed back into her head, causing her to jerk her eyes open. Frowning deeply, she inhaled, and slowly exhaled, "This is ridiculous. How can I, a princess, be so bothered by such trivial things?" she mumbled loudly, frustration evident in her voice.

She bent her knees, and wrapped her arms around her legs, moving to rest the side of her head against the tub.

"Damn you, Ichigo… why can't you just keep to yourself?" she said, angry, mostly with herself than Ichigo. She frowned even deeper as if it were possible and glared daggers at her reflection in the water. "And when did I let him get this close? Last time I noticed, we were friends, and now out of nowhere, I have some sort of feelings for the idiot," she scrunched her eyebrows further, working the gears in her head. She knew her feelings were of attraction, but she had always found him attractive. So she wasn't sure if her feelings were something close to Orihime's infatuation, or… love.

Shaking her head vigorously, she grabbed a hold of her hair and considered ripping it out. "That's not plausible. It can't be infatuation, and it can't be love, right? Then, what is it? Just attraction?"

None of this was computing; it was like a language she couldn't understand, or a book she couldn't read. She had never fallen in love before, which meant she couldn't completely conclude that it wasn't love, but to Rukia, falling in love with Kurosaki Ichigo wasn't even seen as possible. It wasn't that Ichigo was incapable of making others fall in love with him -just look at Senna- but her relationship with him was different. The love she had heard about in old Japanese tales was based on longing, love sickness, and heart break… and having many wives, in Genji Hikaru's case, but that was beside the point.

Love was supposed to be "magical" and romantic, as well as gag-worthy in Karin's book. And from what she could tell, her relationship with Ichigo was nothing at all magical, or romantic. What they had didn't seem like love at all.

Where were the longing looks? The jealous thoughts? And the burning passion?

Not anywhere she could see. In her eyes, their relationship consisted of a king and a princess, a close friendship, a pinch of awkwardness, and another ingredient she couldn't describe.

And in there, was not an undying love.

* * *

Renji was slightly concerned.

Ever since that morning, Ichigo had been rather silent, often staring out into space, completely blanking out. Usually, that was a symptom of Ichigo having much on his mind, and him trying to sort it all out, but what Renji was concerned about, was why he was muttering to himself with his face full of concentration. The king never muttered, which was why the red haired werewolf concluded that whatever he was thinking about, it must be important. If it was something about the kingdom, he would have told Renji, but since he didn't say anything, it was safe to assume it was about his private life.

"Oi, Renji, how do I normally act during the full moon?" Ichigo asked, unconsciously switching to Japanese.

Surprised, Renji cleared his throat, "Well, you don't really act any different from how you normally do. Why?" he replied in Japanese, one of his brows lifted. He shifted on the sofa he was sitting on, and eventually just laid his head on the arm rest and stretched his legs out.

"I was talking to Rukia yesterday, and I don't even remember half of what we were talking about, or doing. But I remember her saying I wasn't in my right mind," Ichigo said, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall of his office, staring intently outside the balcony's glass doors. "And I want to know why she was so flustered to make that kind of face," he mumbled, loud enough for Renji to here.

The other man listened, nodding his head as he put everything together. "Ichigo," he said, sighing, "You're obviously attracted to her, hence your strange behavior that made her blush. Your hormones were out of control."

Ichigostared at the other man as though he were crazy, and shook his head, "Attracted to Rukia?"

"Don't tell me you never thought of this before?" Renji watched incredulously when his king looked away, and casually scratched his head, his tail swinging with more energy than usual. "You have got to be kidding me!

"Don't think I don't notice that look you give her, or how you touch her dress or one of her tails when you think no one's looking. And even your hormones reacted to her! And you're telling me you're denying this?" he crossed his arms, mentally rolling his eyes.

"I never denied it. I just didn't think it would come off strongly. As a male, of course I think she's attractive, I just never thought I was specifically attracted to her," Ichigo walked over to the balcony, and sat on the balcony, looking out.

"You were always drawn to her. I've been telling you this for awhile now, and finally, you're getting it into your thick skull. Sometimes I wonder how you can run a nation without problems, but not handle your private life as easily," Renji closed his eyes, in need of a nap. "You're alpha male here, so you get all the women you want."

Renji was right, he could get all the women he wanted, but even so, being alpha male, or king, wasn't an excuse to become a man whore. Past rulers took advantage of their position and often had many concubines and mistresses, but Ichigo, as well as his father, were one woman men. His father with his mother, and Ichigo with whomever he chose. Having lived for decades and centuries, he had his fair share of women and sex, as did every other male werewolf, but he had yet to settle for one person he was completely serious about.

And while he didn't want to admit it to Renji, he was very well aware of his attraction towards Rukia. After all, werewolves couldn't control who they were attracted to.

However, he didn't even want to consider Rukia as a partner since he didn't want to create their already confusing and awkward relationship into something more fragile. And he also wasn't really fond of the idea of having to speak to Byakuya about such matters during a rather serious time.

* * *

Dodging a swipe at her head, Rukia retorted by jamming the bottom of her hilt into Karin's arm, causing the other woman to hiss, and retreat, now on the defensive. Rukia continued swinging her sword, Karin blocking every blow with her own sword.

"This story is so good!" said Yuzu from the sidelines, paying more attention to her book than Rukia and Karin's sparring session. "The main hero is putting his life against the line to save this noble woman from death, who originally saved his family. And he said it was because he owed her, but everyone can see he's doing it because he doesn't want to see her cry again. Isn't that romantic?"

"Very," said Rukia, easily evading the attacks thrown her way.

Karin smirked, "It's not even gag-worthy. Normally your books are cheesy, like about princesses and prince charmings," she said, finding an opening. She swung her sword down, only to have Rukia flash-step behind her and kick her in the back, making her fall on her face.

"Well, this book's different! It's romance even you guys could read," the cheerful twin stood from her chair, and happily ran up to Karin, crouching over with her beloved book in her arms. "You could learn from this story," she said, smirking at her sister's defeated form.

"What could I possibly gain from that?" the dark haired twin sat up, rolling her eyes. Rukia lent her a hand, which she gladly took, pulling herself up and brushing the dirt off her dress.

"How to show love in 'non-gag-worthy' ways," Yuzu giggled, remembering different scenes from the book. "The protagonist cannot keep up with the speed of the world without the woman in it. Oh! The angst," standing up, she placed the back of her hand on her forehead and faked agony, her eyebrows scrunched in faux pain.

Suddenly, she snapped to Rukia, a Cheshire grin replacing her previous frown. "You on the other hand just need to learn to show more of it!" she brought the kitsune into a lung crushing hug, her ears bouncing with adoration, "I know Ichigo is a bit thick headed, but your feelings will get to him eventually! He'll give in to his own feelings soon enough!"

Blinking in surprise from the sudden show of affection, Rukia hugged her back, albeit awkwardly, "I highly doubt that. I don't think Ichigo feels that way," she said, lightly patting her back.

Watching, Karin lifted her brows, crossing her arms and smirking, "Oh? Did Kuchiki Rukia not argue about her feelings for once?" she put her face up to the said kitsune, and eyed her suspiciously.

"Oh, you're right, Karin," Yuzu let go and looked up at Rukia hopefully, her grin never leaving her face.

"What if I just got tired of arguing all the time?"

"That's not possible; I know you. If something isn't true, or you don't believe it to be true, you'll argue it till the end of the world. And the majority of the time, you're right," Karin swung her arm around Rukia's shoulders, much like how guys acted around their friends casually. "And you're not good at lying, so obviously something has _changed_."

Not liking all the attention on her, Rukia moved away from the sisters, letting out a huge sigh. She turned her back to them, her tails following her movements gracefully. "Maybe you're right, but I'm still sorting my feelings out," she said, trying to rejuvenate the ice wall that normally protected her from day to day. "Whatever we have, I'm sure it can't be love," she turned back to them, trying to put on her most serious looking façade as the wind blew her hair around her face.

Karin stared at her skeptically, studying her movements and her expression. She knew Rukia had a hard time admitting the truth sometimes, and often said things she didn't mean. But she was affirmative that Rukia actually believed her relationship with Ichigo wasn't love. Oh, Rukia… innocently clueless as ever.

Smiling, Karin dropped down onto the grass, pulling Rukia and Yuzu down by their wrists, "And the meeting will commence." She cleared her throat, inhaled strongly, readying herself for a lot of possible arguing, therapeutic nonsense, ludicrous opinions, denial, and/or dense ideals.

Well, why was all that possible? Due to Rukia being a special case.

She wasn't stupid or thickheaded like Ichigo; she was actually incredibly intelligent, and very quick to put puzzle pieces together. However, despite being very smart, she lacked common sense and knowledge in the category of being "Social," or rather, the category of "Relationships."

Karin was very much aware of Rukia's past social life –if one could even call it that- and was amazed the girl didn't have communication impediments, or trouble making friends. Though, one couldn't blame Rukia for shutting herself off from everyone. The majority of the nobles and aristocracy were conniving little assholes, no matter what they were. Kitsune nobles were prissy suck ups, who gloated about expensive rice wine and sake constantly. Vampire nobles were creepy prudes who were constantly serious, and judged you silently, also constantly. While werewolf nobles were money wasting, selfish wine drinking gothic weirdos who fussed about their tails day and night. Karin was part of the fucking royal family and even she wasn't as hateful as the nobles of her kingdom!

Anyways, because Rukia hadn't many friends back in Japan, she was ignorant of how everything worked, not that it was very confusing to begin. She just made it harder for herself because she tried thinking of everything in a logical sense, which didn't help solve any of her problems. And it was because of her logical thinking that led her to never understand anything [related to relationships]! She never knew why things happened the way they did, or why she felt the emotions she did.

She was simply a cute little kitsune with no knowledge of the social world, which was why Kurosaki Karin was there to walk her through the infamous sub-category known as "Love."

"I'm not going to pester you like usual, but what's bothering you so much? I know it has to do with my brother, and your feelings. I can just feel the frustration radiating off of you, especially when we were sparring. Now spit it out, Kuchiki," said Karin, looking intently at the dark haired kitsune, who groaned quietly.

Yuzu nodded in agreement, and rested her head on her bent knees as a child would during story time.

Rolling her eyes, Rukia began, "I don't see why you take interest in this, but if it amuses you, let me humor you.

"I'm lying when I say that our relationship is or isn't love, because I don't actually know what love feels like. So, enlighten me," she said, crossing her arms the way she always did.

Before Karin could even open her mouth, Yuzu with much enthusiasm, answered, "Love is when you feel this warmth in your heart every time you see the person of your affections smile, or laugh. When you constantly worry about them, and realize how hard it is to keep up with the speed of the world without that person in it." The last part was definitely a reference from her book, no doubt about it.

"Oh…," said Rukia and Karin in unison, half surprised that Yuzu said something coherent, and the other half, processing in their brain.

"Love is when you spare that person glances every so often, just for the sake of seeing them. When you wonder constantly wonder what they're doing… and lastly, when_ you_ feel like your relationship has become awkward."

Rukia looked away, guilty of most of the above. While Karin chuckled, just a tad bit nervously, "Yu, when did you become such a love guru?"

This time, it was Yuzu's turn to chuckle nervously, "Since I was born of course! It's not really that hard to figure out!" she said, smiling brightly.

"Love is supposed to be magical and breathtaking, but we aren't like that. So what would you classify us as?" brought up Rukia, curiosity literally printed on her face. "We don't stare longingly at each other, and as far as I know, we don't have any jealous thoughts. And we aren't filled with undying passion."

And then suddenly, Karin burst out laughing, falling onto her side and wiggling her legs around. "No longing stares? You have got to be kidding me! There's enough eyesmex that you guys could paint a picture of each other blind!" she laughed for another five minutes before beginning to breathe again, practically choking from laughter. "Damn, that was too funny. There goes my happiness for another week or so."

Rolling her eyes, Rukia frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Karin means that you and Ichigo always look at each other with this intense stare, so much that you could paint a picture of him even if you were blind," answered Yuzu, grinning. "It's probably a second nature for you two that you're not even aware you do it. So cute!"

"I actually do that?"

"Of course you do! So does Karin! I'm sure you've noticed at least that."

"No, I don't!" defended the said dark haired werewolf, her ear twitching uncontrollably.

"Actually, you do! And you're twitching your ear like how General Hitsugaya does when he's irritated," said Rukia, liking how the attention was off of her.

As if on cue, entered the white haired general they were currently speaking of. His arms were crossed and he didn't look the least bit happy, not that he was a smiling ball of sunshine normally, but he looked a tad bit more pissed than he usually was. "Karin, where did all the sugar cubes go?" he said, most likely talking about the sugar cubes that were given to the horses from time to time.

Karin crossed her arms, "I just gave some to Hyorinmaru, what's the problem?"

"Did you forget he's not allowed to have sugar?"

"No, but he deserves a treat once in awhile. What's wrong with that?"

"Do you why he can't have sugar?" he said, sighing when the dark haired woman shrugged. "He has low tolerance for sugar and literally loses his mind. He snuck out of the stalls, and ate the majority of Yuzu's and Miss Senna's gardens, as well as destroyed the dry ice sculpture meant for the ball."

Rather than panicking, she stood up and wrapped her arm around Toshiro's shoulders as she did with Rukia earlier, a smirk on her face. "Oh, Toshiro… that dry ice sculpture was hideous anyways, which is a sign that you should be the one to create the next one."

"Don't be stupid. I'm a general, not a sculptor," he said, turning his head away from her, as if to not look at her.

"You might as well be one. Don't think I don't see you silently criticizing that old sculpture with your eyes, chump," she chuckled, wrapping her arm around his and pulling him away towards the stables. "You're going to make one whether you like it or not."

And with that said, the two disappeared, leaving Rukia and Yuzu to their own affairs.

"They're so cute!" exclaimed Yuzu, hearts in her eyes. She clasped her hands together, looking happily into the sky. "We need to go peep on them! Who knows what they do alone?"

Rukia chuckled, standing up also. "I don't know about that Yuzu, I think I'll pass. Apparently she can smell me from a mile away."

Pouting, the light brown haired werewolf said, "Aww, okay. I guess I'll see you later!" She then grinned, picking up some of her skirt, and ran along after the "not couple."

The dark haired kitsune laughed, brushing the dirt off her dress. She adored the Kurosaki sisters, they were always so easy to talk to, and could be bitches in a lovable way; Yuzu with her not-so-innocent prying at your secrets, and Karin with her straight forward criticism and casual demeanor. She could even talk to Isshin comfortably, despite not having many chances to chat with him. He was simply a comical man who never failed to lighten any situation.

And then there was Ichigo.

Ichigo was a plenty of things. He was aggravating, irritable, and very stubborn, yet kind, and generous. He was gentlemanly when he wanted to be, and rather laid back the majority of the time. He always had that scowl on his face due to his mother's untimely death many years ago, but he never failed to smile. His smiles were prodigiously handsome, and she couldn't help but silently admire his features, his bright hair, angular face, and very masculine build. Of course, the man wasn't perfect, but in her eyes, she believed him to be a very honorable man whom is respected and loved by all his subjects.

Rukia felt heat rising to her face when she realized she was thinking of different times she saw Ichigo smile.

One time, she remembered, was when he was talking to the children back in Japan, letting them pet his hair. It was adorable, and she couldn't help but crack a smile at how naturally he acted with kids.

Another time was during one of his other visits to Japan to check up on Karin where he read a whole sentence in Kanji correctly. He was so proud of himself, kept on talking about it for a whole twenty minutes, and then began arguing with Renji about its meaning.

And… the next smile she remembered was a smirk. The memory that came with this one was rather unpleasant for her to remember as it involved a hot spring, and bad Japanese. The Kuchiki manor had private hot springs for men and women, and Ichigo, being a Japanese "master," read the sign wrong and went into the women's side. Being the lucky kitsune she was, she had decided to get out right when Ichigo came in.

They were originally covered with their towels, of course… but from the surprise of him coming in, and his _very_ toned upper body, she accidentally allowed the towel to slip through her fingers and into the spring water. When Ichigo saw_ her_ upper body, he quickly went to apologize, forgetting that he had been holding his towel together, leading to two people naked as the day they were born, just staring. He had quickly covered his private parts with his tail, while she did the same with her many tails. She had turned beet red, and Ichigo couldn't have missed the chance to tease her about never seeing a man naked before, and held that against her for a few months until it got boring. He never forgot about it, but its original appeal wasn't present anymore therefore he just never brought it up.

Looking up at the sky, allowing the wind to sway her hair to the side, she closed her eyes. Maybe she was in love with him. The way her heart flittered when she thought of him smiling, when he would smirk at her with his mouth lop sided. His casual teasing, and the way he talked to her when they first met with his laid back attitude. Or how handsome he looked when sparring with Renji, or how fast he moved when fighting. She loved it all.

* * *

"Finally we can all have dinner together like a big happy family!" exclaimed Isshin in delight, his face as bright as the sun.

At the rather large dining table sat Yuzu, Karin, Ichigo, Senna, Renji, Ashido, Toshiro and Isshin. There were originally two vacant chairs, one for Rukia, and the other for Orihime. The former a bit late, and as for the latter, she couldn't make it because of an injured soldier. So now there was only one vacant chair to the right of Ichigo, which was left there purposely for Rukia, due to the courtesy of Karin and Yuzu.

There were plenty of dining rooms in the palace, but everyone currently sat in the small one meant for the private affairs of the Kurosakis. Almost all the chairs at the table were taken, while still leaving room for other chairs to be put in; it was a comfortable sized dining table, even for a king.

Ichigo sat at the front, while Renji sat on his left followed by Senna, who sat across from Ashido, then Toshiro who sat across from Karin, and then finally, Yuzu who sat across from Isshin to watch his eating.

"Is this really necessary?" asked Ichigo, placing his elbow on the table and resting his head in his hand. His tail rested lazily on his seat while his ears moved back in forth in boredom.

"Of course it is, son! It's not often we can all gather together!" laughed Isshin, a canine openly noticeable.

Suddenly, one of the doors to the room opened, leading everyone to avert their attention to the side. The door fully opened, revealing Rukia who looked around, smiling and she greeting everyone. She apologized for her tardiness and headed for the only chair available; the chair next to Ichigo. She mentally groaned and walked up to it, only to have Ichigo, rather than the butlers pull her chair back. She blinked in surprise, but thanked him politely.

_He does this all the time, nothing special,_ she convinced herself as he pushed her chair in for her.

A giggle was heard from the far end of the table, but it could not be determined who it came from, Isshin or Yuzu? Both werewolves looked rather entertained, and Isshin, if he really wanted to, could squeal and giggle like a girl, strangely enough.

Ignoring the interesting sound, everyone began to eat as the servants brought in the first course. Everyone ate in silence while awkward tension formed over on the king's side of the table.

Rukia would glance over at Ichigo only to see him glancing at her, and they would look away embarrassed, and the cycle would start over again minutes later. This cyclic action didn't go unnoticed by the other diners however. Karin grinned evilly at the two, while Toshiro lifted a brow looking between her and the couple at the front. Senna grumbled while elegantly cutting at her filet mignon despite it being already cut, practically cutting the plate, glaring sideways daggers at Rukia.

As for Renji who sat next to Senna, he was the most uncomfortable as he was stuck in between all of this awkward tension. It felt like the purple haired werewolf beside was glaring daggers through his head, even those she wasn't. And he could feel the dense mixture of reiatsu in the air as if it were tangible, making him want push the table over in frustration at everyone's inability to conceal their feelings.

"So, what is everyone going to wear to the ball?" piped up Senna, mostly to the females of the group as hearing about male attire was boring.

Yuzu thought for a moment before, grinning, "I was thinking of wearing this cute pastel pink dress with puffy sleeves and skirt," she said, dreamily thinking of her imitation "fairy princess" dress.

Karin on the other hand seemed uninterested, but answered anyways. "I could care less. I'll probably just go wearing one of the dresses I normally wear, or just not go at all," she said, shrugging.

"You should definitely go! There will be so many men there who will want to court you!" encouraged Senna, ignoring the sudden drop in temperature in the room. "How about you, Rukia?" she said, trying to act like she normally did without spite getting the best of her.

Her ear twitching from hearing her name, she looked up, and remembered the question Senna had asked. To be honest, she completely forgot about that, and wasn't even sure what she could wear. "I'm not sure exactly. I kind of forgot about that," she laughed, dabbing at the sides of her mouth with her napkin, all too aware of Ichigo's stare on her.

"You should wear one of the furisode you brought with you," suggested Karin, placing a cut of meat in her mouth.

"You should, the ball has guests coming from all over who will be wearing their traditional formal clothing," Senna said, sipping some of her white wine.

Ashido, who had been silently eating, suddenly spoke up, "I agree, I am definite you would look more beautiful in your own clothing," he said, not at all fazed by the looks he was receiving. They were mostly of surprise as he said that openly during a meal, in front of Ichigo.

Speaking of the orange haired king, even though he didn't show it, the simple twitching of his ear was more than enough proof that he wasn't quite happy. But who was he to control what people said or how they acted. Whatever people did didn't concern him in the least. He was a king, but not a king who owned everything, especially not Rukia.

Rukia blushed, playing with her napkin, "Ano… thank you," she said, mixing a bit of Japanese.

To stop everything from getting more awkward, Isshin broke the silence, "So I hear my Karin already has a lover, does she?" he leaned onto the table, waiting for Karin's reply.

The said woman glared at her father, "Where did you hear that, old man?"

"Everywhere in the palace! I heard some maids talking about it, but I don't know who the unlucky man is!"

"Well, there's no one, so you can forget it."

"Aww, Daddy's disappointed! Daddy thought you were going to say sweet little general Hitsugaya!"

Blushing, Karin tried not to throw her fork at her father, but found it too difficult, "Shut up!" she said, embarrassed.

Isshin ignored her and turned to his other daughter, "How about you, Yuzu?"

As everyone watched with amusement, Isshin's usual nosy behavior, a wave of uneasiness swept over Rukia's being. Something was horribly wrong, she could feel it. She scrunched her eyebrows, putting her hand to her head as a sudden headache began to come in strongly. She could tell that the headache was caused by the acting up of her star ball, definitely meaning that something was wrong at home back in Japan. She didn't know what happened, but she needed to find out.

Abruptly standing up, she placed her hand on Ichigo's shoulder as she passed him, whispering, "Ichigo, I need to leave." Deep concern written all over her face, her eyebrows scrunched. She left the dining table in a hurry, walking to the door. As she got a hold of the door knob, her wrist was grabbed, stopping her from leaving

"Rukia, what's wrong?" asked Ichigo, concern evident on his face and in his voice.

She turned slightly, only letting him see the side of her face. She could tell everyone was watching with worry and curiosity, their previous cheerful faces, now gone.

When she finally turned all the way to look at Ichigo, her face no longer harbored the usual expression of the strong Kuchiki Rukia, rather the expression of a lost pup. "I have to go back home, Ichigo. I think Nii-sama's in danger," she said, trying to keep her voice leveled.

"Rukia… I can't let you do that."

She looked at him with disbelief, "And why the hell not? Don't you dare say it's so protect me," she said, anger becoming apparent in her eyes.

"That's only part of why," he said, pulling her into the hall to avoid anyone else from hearing. "I know you're going to get pissed about this, but I promised your brother I would keep you here."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

He sighed, not letting go of her wrist, "The reason you're here is because Byakuya asked me to keep you here for the time being to protect you from the current dangers in Japan until everything is resolved.

"The tyrant, Aizen Sosuke, had been spotted in Japan as well as a few of his followers. And your brother and I had predicted he was planning a coup, we were sure that to weaken Byakuya, he would strike you first. I was the one who suggested letting you stay here to keep you safe."

Rukia blankly stared at him, her eyes wide with disbelief. _He fucking lied… and for what? To fucking protect me like I'm a porcelain doll?_

"So, what? Did you get Karin to keep the secret from me?" she said, anger in her strong voice.

"No, it was just convenient she had invited you to stay here," he looked at her, feeling bad he had lied to her. But it was for own good.

She glared at him, "Why does everyone assume I'm weak and have the need to constantly shelter me from the real world? And you even lied to me because you knew I wouldn't agree to such terms!" She yanked her wrist out of his grip, and shot him the iciest look she could muster, before flash stepping away as fast she could.

She lowered her reiatsu to barely detectable and flash stepped to her way to her current destination, the lake in the woods. She was so mad, even to the point of tearing up, but she would not allow herself to cry over such trivial matters. She appreciated that their actions were for her well-being, but it annoyed her to no end that she was protected once again.

Making sure no one followed her, she entered the clearing, facing the lake. She didn't care what Ichigo said, she was going to back to Japan whether he liked it or not. Materializing Sode No Shirayuki, she admired her sword's luminescent beauty, readying herself to open the gate. As she was about to stick her sword into and invisible keyhole in the air, a sudden bright light flashed in her face, successfully blinding her in the process. Losing the feeling in her limbs, she began to fall limply to the ground, unable to feel or see anything. She was barely conscious, just lying on the grass. She could still hear a little bit, making out the sound of movement.

"Do you think she's dead?" asked an unknown feminine voice in Japanese.

"Of course not, do you doubt my abilities?" said another female voice, much more elegant.

"What do we do with her now? Take her to Aizen-sama or kill her?" asked another woman, most likely.

A scoff was heard, "Brash as always Apache," the elegant sounding woman could be heard snickering. "Halibel-sama specifically told us just to check if she was really here or not. We can't take any other actions."

"Che."

And with that, Rukia lost full consciousness. The smell of grass being her last memory before she succumbed to her forced fatigue.

* * *

**I hope that wasn't cheesy or weird! Sorry if there were some mistakes in there! I could only skim it!  
**

**Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5: I Want to Understand You

**_**PLEASE READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END.**_**

* * *

_Disclaimer:_ Bleach owns me.

* * *

_Previously..._

_Making sure no one followed her, she entered the clearing, facing the lake. She didn't care what Ichigo said, she was going to back to Japan whether he liked it or not. Materializing Sode No Shirayuki, she admired her sword's luminescent beauty, readying herself to open the gate. As she was about to stick her sword into and invisible keyhole in the air, a sudden bright light flashed in her face, successfully blinding her in the process. Losing the feeling in her limbs, she began to fall limply to the ground, unable to feel or see anything. She was barely conscious, just lying on the grass. She could still hear a little bit, making out the sound of movement._

_"Do you think she's dead?" asked an unknown feminine voice in Japanese._

_"Of course not, do you doubt my abilities?" said another female voice, much more elegant._

_"What do we do with her now? Take her to Aizen-sama or kill her?" asked another woman, most likely._

_A scoff was heard, "Brash as always Apache," the elegant sounding woman could be heard snickering. "Halibel-sama specifically told us just to check if she was really here or not. We can't take any other actions."_

_"Che."_

_And with that, Rukia lost full consciousness. The smell of grass being her last memory before she succumbed to her forced fatigue._

* * *

**_Chapter 5: I Want to Understand You  
_**

Worried, the females of the dining table migrated towards the door Ichigo and Rukia had left out of and opened it a crack, concentrating their ears on the conversation outside. Ashido, Renji, Toshiro, and Isshin, who were already aware of the situation, sat calmly at the table, continuing to eat as though nothing happened.

"_-And your brother and I had predicted he was planning a coup, we were sure that to weaken Byakuya, he would strike you first. I was the one who suggested letting you stay here to keep you safe."_

Karin gawked, feeling the anger brewing within Rukia from that piece of information. She and Rukia had a special empathetic property to their friendship, and could understand each other's perspectives and views almost as perfect as Ichigo and Rukia's "telepathy." And just from that one line that was spewed from her brother's mouth, she could feel the anger practically radiating from her kitsune friend. Even she was pissed! Rukia was no damsel in distress and she was in no need of being protected from the outside world. That's what always pissed Karin off about guys; they always assumed just because women had ovaries, men had to shelter the poor innocent females from the harsh truth called reality, thinking it was chivalrous. Well, guess what? Chivalry can go shove itself!

_"So, what? Did you get Karin to keep the secret from me?"_

At that moment, Karin wanted to jump out and explain she didn't have anything to do with the plan, but bit her tongue, urging herself to stay put. She just loved how the men could just sit and eat casually at the table because they already knew what was going on, leaving the women out because they didn't need to know anything.

_"No, it was just convenient she had invited you to stay here."_

_Oh? Just convenient? _Karin raised her brow, more anger boiling up her. So she was just part of the plan, eh? Well, _someone's _going to be dead meat after this.

_"Why does everyone assume I'm weak and have the need to constantly shelter me from the real world? And you even lied to me because you knew I wouldn't agree to such terms!" _

And there it is; her exact thoughts. See? They really did share the same perspective.

With a swift breeze of air, Rukia could be heard flash stepping away, her reiatsu skillfully dropping to a barely traceable amount. Karin had expected Ichigo to go after her, but instead he sighed and hit his head lightly against the wall repeatedly to help him process the current situation.

"Great," he mumbled, closing his eyes for a moment. He remained with his forehead up against the wall for another minute or two, thinking about his next few actions.

"I know you guys were listening," he said, his voice not quite as fiery as it would have been if it were any other day.

Karin and Yuzu exchanged looks, both shrugging. They opened the door all the way, revealing their brother in his tense state. He lifted his head from its previous state against the wall, and turned his back to them, scratching his head.

"I'll be back. I think she's had enough time to calm down, unless she already left," he said, walking down the corridor, switching between taking his time and speed walking with the anxiety that she might have actually left.

Senna stared worriedly at his back, concern completely written on her face. She wished she could do something to possibly calm his mix of emotions, but unfortunately, she would be playing the wrong part if she did, if she could. After all, there was only one person who could ease his being, and ironically, she was also the only one who could cause such a shuffle of emotions in him. And to be honest, Senna, knowing she had no chance, was absolutely jealous. Even to the point of harboring negative feelings towards Rukia. At dinner, it took all of her might to just be courteous and nice enough without showing her spite openly. She knew it was selfish to dislike someone for something they can't help, but in a world where jealousy exists, everyone is a victim.

"I'm coming too," said Karin, running up to Ichigo. "I know you know that when Rukia's pissed, she isn't even going to want to look at you let alone talk to you, so I'm here for communication purposes," she said humorously, leaving no room for discussion. This only made a mere twitch of the sides of his mouth, not changing his expression.

He was angrier than he should have been. He knew he was doing this for Rukia's well-being, but he couldn't help but be mad at himself for what? Lying to her? He didn't even know why he was so angry, he just was. And Rukia's –hopefully- temporary anger at him didn't help at all. Their relationship was already strained and confusing as hell, and now with this? It's as if life really did want to shit on them.

He knew better than anyone that consideration of relationships should not get in the way of political affairs, and this was the perfect example of why he disliked the widely known rule. However, he had no choice in this matter since it was mandatory that Rukia stayed safe, especially when she was a princess of an allied nation. It wasn't only because she had a high status that he wanted to keep her safe, but she was also one of his very close friends.

"Then let's go," he said, walking, Karin following beside him.

Once they exited the palace building, he walked in the direction of the thick woods, yawning.

"Can you sense her?" asked Karin, her tail swiveling in all directions.

"Barely, her reiatsu is so low that I can't trace it," he scrunched his eyebrows in concern, looking around before his nose twitched. "I can smell her though."

She smirked, crossing her arms, "I can notice her smell right away, but even _I _can't sniff her out from long distances," she laughed, trying to sniff around, but smelling nothing but grass and roses. "Is the scent faint or strong?"

"It's medium, not as strong as when she's in the palace."

Cracking a giant grin, she nudged her brother in the side a few times, "So that means you can constantly _smeeeell _her?"

Rolling his eyes and looking away, he pushed her playfully, "Come on, we need to go find the bane of my existence."

"Don't you mean the _lovely _bane of your existence?"

"Will you stop with that?"

Poking him in the ribs, Karin smirked, "Nope." She sprinted up after him when he got ahead of her by two meters, smiling at his open show of impatience. His right ear was twitching constantly, albeit lightly, and his tail's movements were rather stiff. "You know, I was going to kill you for my being 'convenient' in your plan, but just from how bothered you look about this whole ordeal, I'll spare you since you're providing me entertainment."

"You're as much of a bitch as Rukia, you know that?"

"That's why we're friends, chump."

They shared a laugh before seriously looking for their kitsune friend. They assumed since it was Rukia, she was fuming in some section of the woods, and would be okay by the time they found her, not even considering that something might have happened to her. She had lowered her reiatsu when she left, so it wasn't a surprise when they felt it lower even more, assuming she just didn't want to be found.

"Are we still having this ball?" asked Karin, her arms crossed.

"We have to. It would be disrespectful to the guests, especially when it's so close," he said, sighing. "And if I did cancel it, it would only confirm to Aizen that our kingdom is involved in the kitsune's affairs, not that the bastard doesn't already know, but we can't risk completely tipping him off. We also can't alert out people that something serious is going on."

"Right," she honestly didn't care about all the official business, but it was essential to at least know what was going on especially when she was the sister of the king. It would be pathetic if the princess didn't even know anything about her kingdom and the current events.

By now, Karin could faintly detect Rukia's scent, and from the way Ichigo's nose constantly twitched, she was sure that it was shoved up his nose by now.

She still found it hilarious how he could smell Rukia even from large distances, which was a sign that a werewolf has found his or her mate. She bit her bottom lip, trying to stifle the laughter threatening to explode. Just imagining it made her want to smack him in the back and start laughing, but the image that popped in her head was a bit too vivid for her liking.

Clearing her throat, she froze in her spot, sensing something amiss. "Ichigo, did you feel that? I felt three… kitsune?" she scrunched her eyebrows in concentration, trying to find the mysterious reiatsus.

"I did. I've been feeling them on and off."

"Then why didn't you say something?"

"They didn't feel very harmful, and weren't that strong in my opinion, so I assumed they weren't any of my concern."

"Three _kitsune_? And you're telling me that this doesn't concern you? We're in fucking Europe, Ichigo!" she half yelled, now moving faster.

He shrugged, his hands in his pockets, "Sure, that's a bit fishy, but Aizen can't possibly pull anything just yet. At most, he probably sent some of his followers to confirm that Rukia's here."

"Are you trying to piss me off?"

"Not intentionally."

She growled, trying her best not to smack her brother on the back of the head. What he said made sense, but his laid back attitude was pissing her off. "Aren't you worried they might attack Rukia since she's alone, in this almost too perfect environment?"

He shook his head, "It's too early for that, possibly tomorrow. The palace is heavily guarded, so I doubt a huge fight would start. Aizen's a smart man, he won't outwardly attack a whole kingdom due to the chances of starting a war against two nations.

"All he needs is Rukia, and whatever he chooses to do with her will determine how he'll attack."

Karin nodded her head, reminding herself that her brother was the king, and also a great military strategist. He was rather impulsive, yes, but when it came to the people who could potentially lose their lives, his thought process was too complex even to imagine.

Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks when they neared the lake she and Toshiro often sat by. Several meters away laid a figure on the ground, sprawled out on the grass.

Their eyes adjusted, focusing on the figure. "That's… !" she said, beginning to half-sprint.

The instant he realized it was Rukia, Ichigo was gone from his spot in a blink of an eye, appearing beside her. He immediately checked her for injuries, visibly sighing in relief when he found none. His eyebrows were scrunched so close together that they were practically touching as he observed her current state.

"Is she okay?" asked Karin, walking up. She kneeled down, concern clearly written on her face.

He nodded, "Luckily, she's uninjured," he said, lifting her up into his arms. "She was put under some sort of sleeping spell using witchcraft and kitsune magic from what I can tell. She should wake up as though she had taken a nap."

He glanced down at the kitsune his arms, shifting his arm so that her head rested more comfortably against him.

Karin sighed in relief, picking up Sode no Shirayuki, "I guess Aizen's minions got to her before she left."

Ichigo rolled his eyes at his younger sister's calling of Aizen's followers, "minions." It wasn't that the word was used incorrectly; he just found it humorous that they were casually called "minions."

"Well, I was right about them not attacking her, so we can expect some sketchy shit in the next few days," he groaned, beginning to walk back to the palace, dreading having to handle the events to come.

Karin quietly grinned, excited to finally see some action in her life. Typically, in other kingdoms, once a threat has shown itself, the kingdom's defense is immediately strengthened. However, in the werewolf kingdom, things were a bit more… unorganized. Who needed organization when the soldiers were equal in strength to say, titans when in their sealed forms? Werewolves took what came at them; they were prepared for anything, and everything. It wasn't just a sense of nationalism that she thought that; she experienced countless attempts at invasions from neighboring nations, every single one ending within 24, or 48 hours.

And with Rukia, there was an even more of a reason they didn't have to enforce the kingdom's defense. She was strong by herself, and even Ichigo knew that she was fully capable of holding her ground against a much stronger larger opponent. She was a very skilled fighter who could easily overpower Karin if she wanted to. And Karin was strong enough to be an officer if she was allowed to, but of course, her dear dear brother was a kill joy, and so, she remained without a rank other than "princess."

"So, what is this I hear about you and Toshiro?" Karin was dragged out of her thoughts when her said brother brought up a question she hoped he would never ever ask. Not that there was anything going on between her and Toshiro that she was afraid of him finding out; it was just a pain in the ass to have to explain everything so that she wasn't accused of planning a ludicrous eloping.

"Ignore it, it's nothing. We've been friends for awhile, so now everyone assumes we have a 'thing' going on even though we don't. Rumors were spread all over about us through the maids, and now we have the status of a couple in society's eyes."

Was it him, or did this sound familiar? He lifted Rukia in his arms to move her into a more comfortable position, his brows rising in thought, "Déjà vu?" he mumbled, loud enough for his younger sister to catch, his ear quirking awkwardly to the side in a half twitch.

Crossing her arms, Karin nodded her head repeatedly in understanding. It was definitely "Déjà vu" considering this was the state Ichigo and Rukia's relationship was in just recently until something really clicked in their dense skulls.

Wait… if their relationship was previously like that, and Toshiro and Karin's relationship was there right now, wouldn't that mean that they would too follow the fate of growing romantic feelings?

Cringing from the thought of the mushy cheesy potential romance, she rubbed the sides of her arms as if cold, an expression very grimace-like on her face.

And no, she wasn't cringing from the idea of _that _with Toshiro. She was cringing just imagining them acting so out of character, and romantic. _Was that even possible?_

Then again, there was Ichigo and Rukia. They weren't completely cheesy, unless overanalyzed by a literature major, but they were still very romantic. Just the way they looked at each other was enough proof, and it wasn't gag-worthy in the least!

"Just friends, huh?" said Ichigo, rolling his eyes. "That line just doesn't seem work anymore no matter how hard you try," he chuckled, glancing down at the unconscious Kuchiki in his arms. She normally weighed nothing more than a pillow, but the things probably weighing her down were probably her tails and the dress she wore. The skirt had close to twenty layers, and it was a wonder how she could shunpo so fast with that much deadweight on her. And even though he had been part of werewolf culture since he was born centuries ago, he still didn't understand why the majority of the werewolf styled dresses needed to be so intricately designed, but then again, maybe it was just females in general he didn't understand.

"You would know," now it was Karin's turn to roll her eyes. "You've been trying to deny your inevitable fate for what? Years? I think even before you met Miss Kuchiki over there."

He didn't like to admit it, but she was right. Isshin had been pestering him to find a mate and call it a day for decades now, but it wasn't that easy. Sure, he saw a few women in his lifetime, but none of them proved to keep his attention. He had kept telling his family that he would probably never marry, and it wasn't possible for him to be interested in any women, naively assuming all women were the same. Well, look at him now. A woman, who wasn't even a werewolf, had him _almost _completely tied around her finger, in more ways than she was aware of; in more ways than he let on.

"You've even had Senna right in front of you for _years_, and you never even spared her a glance. You're quite the cruel player, you know that, Ichi-nii?" the younger werewolf said, suddenly switching to Japanese for the heck of it.

"Senna?" He did recall Renji saying that Senna was one of Rukia's supposed "love rivals," but he never really thought about it deeply.

"Of course! She's been openly in love with you for decades! And so has Orihime, but she was smart and backed off 'cause she knew she didn't stand a chance against Rukia.

"Senna still hasn't given up though, and I'm surprised she hasn't done anything yet."

It was like that, was it?

Ichigo nodded, everything processing in his brain. It did make a little more sense now why the purple haired werewolf acted the ways she did only around him. And he knew he hadn't imagined it when she would lose her usual smile whenever Rukia walked into the picture. He too, was a bit surprised that Senna hadn't done anything yet. The woman was friendly and all, but she was very competitive, and like all the other women of the higher classes, she was excellent at scheming dirty tricks to get what she wanted. However, unlike the other aristocratic women, she was smart and thought her actions through, which was probably why she hadn't made any moves.

"Hm… Nii-sama… Ichigo… kill… idiot…," murmured Rukia in her sleep, causing him to roll his eyes.

"Dreaming of killing me, eh? Not bad, Kuchiki."

Unexpectedly, she shot her arm out as if to punch him, missing him by a millimeter. "Fucking… joke…around… me," she tried shifting around, but since she was in his arms and not on a bed, she was forced to stay in her huddled position.

Karin let out a chuckle, poking the other woman's ear repeatedly for fun, enjoying watching it snap back at her. "This is quite entertaining."

Her ear twitching in irritation from the female werewolf's excessive poking, Rukia growled, instantly waking up. She attempted sitting up, but hit Ichigo in the face with her head instead, making him drop her on her ass.

"Shit! Haven't you caused me enough problems, woman?" Ichigo rubbed his jaw, glaring at the kitsune on the ground.

In turn, she glared back at him, standing up straight so her face was up to his, or at least as close as she could get due to their drastic height difference. "I never asked you for your help, therefore _I _shouldn't have caused you any problems since you brought them on yourself," she said, crossing her arms, her glare never leaving her face. Well, that at least confirmed that she was still pissed from earlier.

"I'm not talking about those problems, Rukia," he said, his voice increasing by several decibels. He continued staring her down, her extra icy glare making him want to piss her off even more.

She continued to challenge him, her glare not wavering a bit, "Then what other problems could I have possibly caused you? I have never asked a favor of you, and everything you do is because… you willingly chose to."

"Rukia, you trouble me more than all of my kingdom's affairs and wars put together. So don't tell me you don't cause me problems," he stopped himself from revealing anything else and averted his eyes. With that said, he broke their staring contest and began walking ahead, leaving her to glare at the back of his head.

Karin, who had been awkwardly observing the two, played with her tail, trying to blend in with the background. Eventually, seeing as they were getting nowhere, she walked along too with Rukia following. The said kitsune moved to Karin's left so that the young werewolf would separate her from her apparent object of affections.

If it were even possible, the tension was so thick, Karin couldn't even breathe, and it was still increasing. To make matters worse, both of the idiots' reiatsus were clashing against each other, creating bipolar shifts in the temperature.

"This is fucking ridiculous," she said at last, after ten minutes of enduring it, a deep scowl on her face. "What is up with you two? You guys are being so… moody. I honestly don't get it. If it's that much of a problem, go suck face or something! You guys obviously want to!"

Blushing a bit, they ignored her, continuing to concentrate on random stars in the sky.

Karin scoffed, "You guys are so frustrating! It's not even funny." She opened her mouth to continue talking, but sighed, finding it useless to try and say anything. If they were to come to terms with their feelings, it would be on their own accord without an audience. Plus, who was she to try and help them with their relationship when she had her own to worry about?

"Oh, by the way, what happened to you that you ended up unconscious?" she asked out of nowhere, almost forgetting to ask. Ichigo had been distracted so he forgot, but he probably already knew what happened, knowing him.

The glare finally left Rukia's face as she turned to the other woman, her face suddenly serious, "Nothing much happened. I was about to open the gate when there was a giant flash, which blocked my senses. I could still hear a bit though, and from what I could tell, I think they were Aizen's followers. I recall hearing their names before."

"I was right then. Let's be thankful they only came to confirm your stay here," said Ichigo, his glare gone, and his usual scowl back. "Aizen can't abruptly attack another kingdom or he would be asking for a war."

"Aizen's smart, he'll probably end up sending people here to either kill or capture me," Rukia crossed her arms and thought, thinking of the future conflict. "Since he gave each of his espada a part of his own power, simply by killing them, he will become weaker."

"I heard the espada are exceptionally powerful though," said Karin.

"They are, which is why Aizen trusted them with his power. They're not too difficult though. From what I heard, four were killed and two seriously injured," said Ichigo, yawning.

Rukia shook her head, "Don't underestimate them. As kitsune, we have plenty of tricks up our sleeves that people don't know about."

"Do you?"

"Of course, buffoon! You would know about them if you ever allowed me to fight," she said, glaring at him again.

"Byakuya asked me to keep you safe, I can't just throw you into a pit full of vicious demons and call it day, you know!"

Oh, boy, this again.

* * *

_Day of the ball…_

"So exciting!" Orihime clasped her hands together as she watched the servants set everything up from the balcony of Karin's room. She was practically jumping up and down like a child in a toy store.

"I'm not looking forward to this… at all," groaned Karin, sighing. Yuzu happily brushed the dark haired werewolf's hair, while the said werewolf shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "I don't see the reason why I have to go."

"Because you have to! Ichigo will look bad if one of the princesses isn't present," laughed her twin, placing down the brush and twisting her hair in some sort of complicated way, securing it with a clip. "The guests will be arriving soon, so the fact that I even found you before the ball starts is more than enough of a reason for you to go. You lost in the game of hide and seek, so you must pay your dues."

Rolling her eyes, she allowed Yuzu to finish her hair. It was slightly painful on the scalp, but it wasn't something she couldn't handle.

Orihime walked over to them, a giant grin plastered on her pretty face, "How's Rukia? Has she finished dressing?" she asked, swinging the skirt of her light pink dress around with her hands. Her hair was neatly and simply put up in an up-do with flower hairclips adorning her hair, making her look innocent, very befitting of her personality.

Karin shrugged, "I don't know. She said she would head over here when she was done," she answered, equally as curious about the whereabouts of their kitsune friend. "She murmured something about keeping knives under our skirts in the event that we encounter either a rapist or pervert, or there is a surprise attack from 'Aizen's mighty troops.'"

"Oh, Rukia… always prepared for battles," sighed Orihime, her bottom lip sticking out in a pout.

Speaking of the Kuchiki, there was a knock on the door. The knob turned slowly before it creaked open, revealing their topic, all cleaned up and charming.

Everyone turned their attention to the door, and instantly, two very loud squeals were heard.

Cringing from the high pitched noise, Rukia closed the door and casually sat down on Karin's bed, blinking fatigue out of her eyes.

"You look so gorgeous!" Orihime exclaimed, literally levitating over, ogling Rukia's everything. "You're so pretty!"

Lifting her brow, Rukia crossed her arms over her chest like she often did, and looked at the other woman as if she were crazy, "I only put on my furisode and put my hair up. I don't see how I look any different from how I normally look."

The thing Orihime didn't understand was that, while the kitsune looked great in European attire, she looked much more elegant, graceful, and beautiful in her traditional clothing. Just by slapping on her furisode, she emitted class and was seen as the epitome of royals and nobles.

Awkwardly, but true, any woman who was straight would turn homosexual for her.

Her furisode was a mixture of amethyst, orchid, and white with lavender lilies adorning her right shoulder and the rest of the furisode. Her hair was pulled up with a clip matching a hell butterfly along with light blue violet flowers held in an orderly fashion in her hair. There was no need for her to use make up since her eyes were magically alluring, distracting those who saw her from anything other than her eyes.

"You really do look beautiful, Rukia," said Yuzu, her hands over her heart, "Ichigo's eyes will be yours for the night."

Rolling her eyes, Rukia chuckled, "I highly doubt that. There will be plenty of other women there who will probably be more worth his attention. He's a king after all," she said, getting up. She came over to where Karin sat and smirked at the other woman's "trapped" sitting position while her hair was getting done.

"King he is, but manwhore he is not," laughed Karin, her tail snapping at the floor when Yuzu pulled a bit too hard on her hair. "First, it took forever to get you to realize your feelings, now it's going to take another year for you to believe he's in love with you, unless some sort of event triggers a premature realization." She leaned her cheek against her hand, her elbow on the arm rest.

"I know you're very modest, Rukia, but definitely only has eyes for you," added Yuzu, fawning over some fictional scenario from her book.

Orihime nodded in agreement, "While my feelings for him are mostly gone, I wish he would love me as much as he does you! You're the object of his love so obviously you're oblivious to it, but everyone else _knows _he loves you," making sense for once in her life, she grinned, her hands behind her back.

As much as it seemed true, Rukia couldn't help but roll her eyes at the thought of him reciprocating her feelings. She wouldn't believe it until she saw straight out proof of Ichigo's supposed love. It just all seemed plain ludicrous.

"Well, if he really does feel the way he does, which he doesn't, then it's unfortunate for him that Ashido will be my… date, for the night," she said, suddenly finding her sleeve to be more interesting than the surprised looks of the Kurosaki sisters.

Yuzu gasped, her hands brought up to her mouth.

Karin's jaw fell so low, it practically dropped on the floor, "Hell no, you didn't! That's why Ichigo's been so moody lately!"

Nodding her head, Rukia was prepared for the inevitable lecture to come. She told the sisters about the incident a few days ago while testing wine, when Ashido asked her to be his date with Ichigo sitting right there.

"Oh boy… Ashido signed himself up for dirt nasty looks tonight. The man's lucky he's friends with Ichigo, or he would've been dead that night," said Karin, shaking her head in sympathy, earning a light smack from Yuzu who was trying to keep her locks clipped perfectly. "Rukia, I would like to warn you that you will be feeling a suffocating amount of reiatsu tonight, especially when you start dancing with Ashido, and the million other men who will ask you afterwards."

Rukia wasn't really getting it, but she nodded anyways.

* * *

Unlike in other cultures where the king arrived after all the guests have arrived, in werewolf culture, the king arrived first in the ballroom before everyone else did to greet the guests. Or rather, the guests went to greet the king. Ichigo was rather untraditional at times, and was never seen sitting in his throne. Instead, he could be seen roaming around the room, constantly with new guests speaking to him.

By the time Rukia met up with Ashido in the gardens, the ball room had been almost completely filled with guests of all kinds.

"Good evening," said Ashido, sensing Rukia walking towards him. His eyes widened slightly when his gaze fell upon her figure, taking in the sight before him. Standing frozen for a minute, he regained his composure, clearing his throat. "You look very lovely tonight," he said, smiling, extending his arm out to her. She normally held grace and elegancy in her everyday movements and gestures, but today, she was the full blown princess that she was, her head was held high and she radiated high class royalty. He couldn't be anymore delighted to be entering the ball room with such a lady.

Rukia returned the smile, taking his arm. "Thank you," her eyes illuminated from the rising moon, only adding to the natural luster they normally gave off. "Shall we go?"

He nodded, the smile never leaving his face, "Gladly." Bending his elbow, allowing her to hold onto it, they walked on. Approaching the ballroom entrance, they were greeted by a line of servants before having the twin doors to the giant room opened before them.

Frozen in her spot in front of the door, she whispered in his ear, "I'm a bit… uneasy. I've never attended a ball before, let alone one as huge and extravagant as this one." Back in Japan, she had been invited to balls, but she never actually went to one. Kitsune didn't hold balls either since that was a rather European activity, so she had no idea of what happened during balls.

Ashido nodded in understanding, "There's no need to be nervous. Allow the other guests to guide you along, because I know without a doubt, that you will not be a wallflower anytime tonight," he said, not looking at her, possibly to hide the light tint of color on his cheeks he would rather die than admit he had. "As much as I would like to have you as only mine, we had agreed to be mock dates, but don't forget, you promised me a dance."

With that said, they entered the room, looking down at the people below from the balcony like platform. There was a wide set of stairs on each side, allowing everyone in the room to see as people entered. They took the stairs to the left, calmly descending down as the other guests stopped their chatting and watched the new arrivals in awe.

Everyone recognized Ashido, but stared in wonder at the woman by his side, along with her multiple tails.

"Isn't that Rukia with Ashido?" asked a purple haired woman as she chuckled next to her blonde haired date. She swished the wine in her cup, watching with amusement.

"I reckon it is," smirked her companion, "I wonder how our lovely king feels about this? Any thoughts, Yoruichi?"

"We'll see in due time, Kisuke."

Right when Ashido and Rukia reached the bottom, they were instantly bombarded by many different people welcoming them. Out of the two, Rukia got the most attention due to her being a new face, and because she was exceptionally beautiful. Once everyone found out she was _the _kitsune princess, more and more people crowded around her, watching her in fascination as though she were a porcelain doll.

Ichigo, who hadn't previously been paying attention to anything, finally noticed the crowd over near the entrance, a bit curious as to which one of his guests caused such an arousal of attention. He leaned against a wall with his arms crossed, waiting for the flock to move so that he could see who had just arrived… until he noticed one of his sisters blushing and laughing from his peripherals. He instantly snapped his attention to a secluded Karin and Toshiro on the other side of the room, noticeably getting along _too well_. He didn't mind if they were talking like friends from two feet away, but now they were way too into each other's personal bubbles for him to be comfortable. As he was about to walk over to them to separate them a few more feet, a hand grabbed a hold of his arm.

"Ichigo, I finally found you."

He turned around to come face to face with Senna, her face bright and glowing. There was a healthy pink tinge on her cheeks as she looked up at him expectantly. "Good evening! How is your night so far?" she asked, a smile gracing her lips. She pushed her chest out just a bit, hoping he would notice her polished appearance.

She wore a sleeveless corset dress that showed off a fair amount of her cleavage without labeling her a "strumpet" in Shakespeare language, and a long silk cloth which she held with the angles of her elbows, wrapping around her back. A large bow was tied around her waist, trailing all the way down to the floor. Her hair was down rather than its usual high pony tail, and pinned back with a flower clip. Her makeup was softly done, and her look was finished with earrings and a necklace. She had tried to dress simply, as she noticed that was what Ichigo seemed to prefer, opposed to the other heavily decorated females guests. She could feel many eyes on her, and couldn't help but inwardly smirk.

"It's fine, how about you?" he asked, handing her a glass of wine as a butler came by them with wine glasses atop his silver tray.

She gladly took it, taking a big sip, "I'm content, thanks," she said, watching as the people in the center of the room danced with their partners. She fiddled her fingers, anxiously glancing up at him every so often, hinting at something. "So... have you seen anybody… you like?"

He raised his eyebrows, looking at her in surprise, not expecting her to ask that. "Oh, well, I haven't really been paying attention. All the women are good looking and everything, but they're pretty much the same to me," he answered, inwardly chuckling as he watched Renji attempt to hit on a few big breasted nymphs.

"Ah," she nodded, absentmindedly tapping her heeled feet on the shiny tiled floor. "Even me?" She hadn't meant to say that aloud, but it accidentally came out, causing her to panic, her ears and tail straightening. She averted her gaze to the ground in hopes he wouldn't see her expression.

Ichigo tightened his hold on his wine glass as way to remind him of her feelings and not to say anything stupid. He didn't want to hurt her feelings, but there was no way he could return her feelings… especially not with Rukia thrown in the equation. He turned to her, and apologetically smiled, "Senna... you're one of my closest friends. And I know about your feelings, but-

"Kuchiki Rukia is the only one you see," she said, sighing, leaning against the wall. She placed her empty wine glass on a tray as a butler came around collecting empty glasses. She stuck her hands behind her and leaned her back and head against the wall. "Here, just listen. This whole time, I've been admiring you from afar, growing envious of Rukia every time she interacted with you, which wasn't even as often as I did.

"It was hard to ignore the way you looked at her, and spoke to her as though you've known each other for centuries. I've only ever seen her reflection in your eyes. I'll admit, I was really jealous, but I have no right to be considering I have had decades of chances, but never did I take advantage of them. I've tried so many times to act then and now, but I had chickened out every single time," she laughed, albeit bitterly. "I just want you to know, that while I can't have you, I'm grateful to at least be able to live in a world where you exist, but to me, you are the world."

She looked up to him and smiled her first genuine smile in years, "Thank you, Ichigo." Her eyes watering a bit, she playfully hit him, "Don't make Rukia cry or you'll be waking up with a mouth full of fist from me," she said, trying to lighten the situation a bit. Before he could say anything she turned and walked away as fast as she could into the vast crowd of conversationally engaged people, stopping him from being able to follow her.

Ichigo's eyebrows loosened, sympathy taking control of his being. He felt really bad for Senna, but like she said, she should have acted sooner, and maybe, just maybe he could have given her a chance. It wouldn't have been impossible for him to fall in love with her, but when Rukia was in the picture, there wasn't more than twenty percent that he could have given her his whole heart. Rukia was just that special.

After Ichigo began roaming the room again, having small conversations with different people of high status, them in turn introducing their daughters and nieces to him. He thought they were all nice and pretty, but they lacked something he valued, and that was personality, and fire. All the woman were well-bred and liked the same things, horseback riding, playing the piano forte, drawing, and singing. It was so predictable he began successfully guessing what each and every one would say.

Yawning, he spotted Urahara and Yoruichi near the food having too much fun suggestively feeding each other, and decided to rain on their activities. He walked up to them and shook his head at their gestures, "You guys are aware you're in public, right?"

Twitching one of her feline ears, Yoruichi looked up and grinned, "Took you quite some time to finally greet your godparents," she chuckled and ate a piece a piece of fruit, her feline ears moving back and forth in satisfaction.

"How is your evening, dear king?" asked Urahara, drinking his nearly full glass of wine.

"Just fine. And don't you two socialize with other people? I only see you guys gossiping," Ichigo crossed his arms, pretty sure that his supposed godparents had made fun of more people than the population of Russia.

"Gossiping is more fun than talking to people directly. You should already know that, plus, there's a lot of gossip material in this room that can't be left forgotten, like when Ashido had walked in with Rukia," said Yoruichi, pointing over to the direction of Rukia. Ashido was seen elsewhere since he and Rukia weren't official dates, and only accompanied each other to the ball. Leaving Rukia sitting on a chair... crowded by four guys who were trying to hit on her.

_Oh hell no._

Ichigo frowned, glaring holes into the backs of the four men's heads. He couldn't see her clearly since the assholes were blocking his view, and since it seemed she needed help getting away from them, he couldn't help but aid her. Walking over to the men, standing directly behind them, he cleared his throat loudly, watching with amusement as all four of them straightened their tails and ears in surprise. They nervously turned to face him, gasping when they realized they were face to face with the king.

"Uh, we're very sorry for blocking your path, your majesty. Please excuse us," they said in unison and bowed, quickly scurrying away with their ear's plastered back on their heads.

He laughed as he watched them run away, slowly turning his attention to the kitsune he had been anxious to see. The moment he laid his eyes on her, he literally choked on air, taking in the view in front of him. His eyes widened slightly, watching as her amethyst irises stared back at him curiously.

"Ichigo…," muttered Rukia, not expecting to see him there. She awkwardly looked to the side when his strong gaze was locked on her, fidgeting a bit uncomfortably in her seat. "Is there something you needed?"

Shaking his head to regain his composure, Rukia misunderstood, thinking he was shaking his head to her question. Standing up, she looked at him, her eyebrows scrunching in concern, "Is something wrong?"

"Uh… do you want to dance?" he said, making up an excuse for why he wanted to talk to her. He scratched the back of his head, his tail swinging back and forth. He had just wanted to talk to her. About what? He didn't know.

She widened her eyes, and blinked several times, his words processing in her brain. Dance? With her? Why?

She knew Ichigo wasn't big on ballroom dancing, so it was a surprise to her that he even brought it up himself. And never having gone to a ball before today, she was inexperienced with dancing, and he knew it too. But despite that, she nodded, "Sure," she said, mentally pulling her out.

He extended his arm to her, and she reluctantly placed her hand on top, heat rising to her cheeks. This was the first time she had ever touched his hand with her own, and she couldn't help but blush. Yes, Kuchiki Rukia did blush over trivial things. She was a female after all.

Walking towards the center, the guests who noticed them moved aside for the king to enter the "dancing space." Everyone, including those who were just dancing, stopped what they were doing and watched as the king danced for the first time that night. The guests moved away to allow the king the appropriate space for dancing, taking into consideration the waving of his delightful tail and Rukia's swaying tails.

Feeling uncomfortable with the attention on them, she sent him a look, which he responded back with a chuckle. Placing his hand on the curve of her back, he smirked evilly when she had to reach high just to rest her arm on his shoulder. "I never realized you were this short," he mumbled.

Rukia glared at him, lightly stepping on his foot. "Ichigo, why'd you ask me to dance? You know I'm not good at it, and now we have a fucking audience," she whispered, frowning up at him.

"But you can waltz, ironically," he said, his smirk never leaving his face. And so, the music began, and as if on cue, perfect waltz music.

Stepping forward at the same time, a challenging glint sparked in their eyes, causing a grin to form on each partner's faces.

He stepped back, she stepped forward.

"How did you know I could waltz?" she asked, as they moved with the music, their steps in sync.

"I know more about you than your own brother."

She rolled her eyes, stepping once toward him as he stepped back once. "Are you sure about that, Kurosaki-sama?"

"Give me some questions, Kuchiki," he challenged, his smirking getting wider when she narrowed her eyes.

"Well, then, let's see," she said, thinking of a worthy question that Byakuya might not even know. "What annoys me the most out of everything?"

"What an open question?

"Everything annoys you… but I think you find people and things you can't understand the most annoying."

One point for him.

Stepping to the side in unison, other people began to start dancing too, keeping in mind that a large imaginary box needed to be kept to keep room from the "main" couple.

"What's are my sword's attack names?"

"Tsukishiro, Hakuren, and Shirafune."

"My kitsune symbol?"

"The moon."

"Likes?"

"Loose clothing, rice dumplings, cucumbers, rabbits, anything cute, cool climate, snow, water, time alone, loyal friends, star gazing, and me," he joked, laughing at the last one, unaware of the truth it held.

Rukia froze for a moment, causing him to stop dancing as well. He worriedly looked down at her, wondering if something was wrong.

"You okay?"

"Yeah…," she said, shaking her head. She laughed at herself, and assured him it was nothing. And then resumed back to their waltzing, "Anyways… dislikes?"

"Rukia… can we just talk normally?"

"What do you mean normally?" Without answering her, he took her hand and dragged her off the dance floor, all the way to the balcony on the far side of the room. He opened the glass doors, and led her through there, stopping once they reached the edge where they could see the view.

He released her hand, and took a deep breath, pushing his hair back with his hand and leaning against the railing, "I just wanted to talk, like this. Alone," he said, successfully surprising her. He looked out into the night air and sighed, "I know we haven't been talking much lately, and I wanted to use this time for only that."

"Oh," she sat on the railing and stared down at the floor of the balcony, fidgeting with her sleeves. They just sat like that in silence, one wondering what to say, and the other just being thankful they could stay like this.

She glanced over at Ichigo quickly, not expecting to catch him already looking at her. She tried to look away, but she couldn't; it was like he was forcing her to look at him. He just stared at her as if it were normal for him to do this, blinking casually without breaking their staring match.

A bit too uncomfortable, Rukia too all her might and pried her gaze away from him. Instead, gazing at the stars above. "Ara... what did you want to talk about?" she asked, the wind blowing her loose strands of hair around her face.

"Nothing," he said, yawning.

A nerve popping, she snapped her head in his direction, "What do you mean, 'nothing?' You're being aggravatingly vague again, Ichigo. You only talk like this when you're conflicted and want to tell me something. So spit it out, Kurosaki!" she crossed her arms, a fang sticking out her frowning mouth.

"I have nothing to tell you."

"My ass you don't!"

Her ear began twitching the infamous way his always did when annoyed. She got off the railing and stomped over to him, jabbing her finger into his chest, "Don't fuck with me, Ichigo. You've fucked with my emotions way too many times to count. If you need to say something, say it." She glared daggers at him, her finger never leaving his chest.

He lifted a single orange brow, smirking, "Since when does Rukia-hime-sama have her emotions fucked with? By me nonetheless?"

Narrowing her eyes, she backed off of him, crossing her arms. "You're an idiot," she said, trying to cover it up.

"You didn't answer my question," he prodded, crossing his own arms, watching her quizzically.

"You didn't answer mine either."

"Because it's not something I can say."

"Why can't you?"

"You wouldn't believe me," he said, his tail moving much more energetic than before.

Challenging him, she took a step forward, directly in front of him. "Try me."

Rolling his eyes, he mocked, "'Try me' she says." He got off the railing, looking down at her. He looked intently into her eyes, taking her challenge. "I'll only tell you if you answer my question first."

She opened her mouth to argue, but he continued, "Unless you're too afraid to admit you're emotional. Boy, when did you become such a shy emotional wreck, I wonder?" he said, only trying to rile her up, not meaning anything he said.

"Fuck you," she inched forward, sending him the nastiest glare she could muster. "Emotional wreck? I'm not quite there yet, but the more you toy around with my feelings makes me close to being one. I have to take hours out of my day just to think about why you do the things you do, and in the end, I'm left with more questions. You always leave me these riddles I can't solve, which just frustrates me. I want to understand you, but you won't let me!

"I probably sound like a fucking sap right now, but I don't care. I have feelings for you! And with you acting so unpredictable, these feelings just get so jumbled up I want to punch something!" she said loudly, breathing hard from her encased frustration.

Eyes wide, he blinked, trying to process all of her words in his mind. "You… have feelings for me?" he replied lamely, staring at her in surprise, not expecting her to say that.

"Of course I do! I said so, right?" she said, her face red. She stepped away from him, averting her gaze. "I know it's hard to believe, but I do. Just forget I ever said anything," she said, embarrassed. Not wanting to face him, she quickly turned to leave, but was stopped dead short when she was pulled back into a tight embrace.

He had grabbed her arm and yanked her back to him, holding her close, making she sure she couldn't escape from his grasp, "Dumbass, whoever said I wanted to forget?" The hand at her waist pushed her closer to him, his other hand placed protectively on her head.

She blinked in wonder as her brain completely froze, her arms absentmindedly moving upwards, debating whether to wrap themselves around him or not. Failing to control her feelings once again, she allowed herself to give in, wrapping her arms around him tightly, her hands picking up some of the clothing on his back and tightening it into her fist. She unconsciously buried her face into his chest, feeling undoubtedly at ease in his arms, never wanting the moment to disappear.

He suddenly pulled away and brought his fingers under her chin to tilt her head upwards to look at him, "You know what I wanted to tell you? I wanted to tell you that I'm only interested in a petite violet eyed kitsune with very little self-esteem and a temper comparable to a bomb," he smirked, inching closer.

Rukia looked up into his eyes, the world disappearing around her. "Idiot…," she said, standing on her toes, gradually closing her eyes as her face closed in on his before she brushed her lips lightly against his.

He smiled against her lips before fully capturing them, reaching his hand behind her neck and moving her head closer to him. At the movement, she tilted her head to deepen the kiss, her brain completely melting into mush in the process. She slowly wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he pulled her flush against him, their tails happily waving through the air in complete bliss.

If only things could stay as such for forever.

* * *

**_PLEASE READ_: **After this chapter, it may be a while till I get the next chapter up due to my summer homework being neglected for the majority of my break. This chapter was 9,000 plus words, so I really hope you guys liked it. And I hope the romance was okay, I'm not the best at portraying it without it getting a tad bit cheesy. I should be updating my other story, _Twist My Fate_, before beginning my homework, so if you guys would like to, please check it out!

**Also, thank you so much for reading! And please review! I'd like to know what you thought of this chapter!**


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